- Conference
- 2016 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 15 September 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. This type of cancer usually develops slowly and for this reason, you may not see any signs that you have it for many years.
Only men have a prostate it is a small gland about a size and shape of a walnut and is located underneath the bladder – surrounding the Urethra, which is the tube men urinate and ejaculate through.
Symptoms often only become apparent when your prostate is large enough to affect the urethra. When this happens, you may notice things like an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating and a feeling that your bladder has not fully emptied.
Higher rates of prostate cancer are seen in men of African descent in the UK, US, Caribbean and West Africa. The statistics show that 1 in 4 Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their life and that Black men are 3 times likely to get prostate cancer than white men of the same age.
According to Tony Wong, African and African Caribbean project manager at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We’ve known for some time that Black men are often reluctant to be tested for prostate cancer and it’s a real worry. With one in four Black men set to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and still so much we don’t know about why Black men face a higher than average risk, or what can be done about it, this is an issue that needs addressing now.”
Therefore Conference calls on the NMBC to work with:
1)Prostate Cancer UK by sending a letter of Support
2)Creating Awareness by publishing an article in Black Action.