A health charity has urged Southwark Council to do more to tackle prostate cancer as new data reveals 235 men are living with the potentially fatal illness in the borough.
The figures from Public Health England show that black men are twice as likely to get prostate cancer and die from it as white men. The charity, BME Cancer Communities, is now urging Southwark to do more to raise awareness, as they say the disease is not in the borough’s local healthcare strategy.
Southwark’s cabinet member for public health, parks and leisure said: “Because prostate cancer does disproportionately affect some groups in Southwark, such as black men, the NHS, Public Health England (PHE) and the council have been doing a great deal to raise awareness of this issue. We have been working with local community and faith groups to share information about prostate cancer, and run local events with world athletics champions Colin Jackson and Mark Foster who are champions for this important issue. We would encourage people to visit their GP if they have any concerns about prostrate cancer as prompt treatment saves lives.”
