SUPPORT DURING THE PANDEMIC

Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic all face to face support groups (including ours) have been cancelled due to the Government’s recommendations on social distancing.  However, some organisations are holding virtual meetings and providing support online. Please see our page sourced from Macmillan Support During the Pandemic - look under the Support menu item.

Also see a page of information from Macmillan on Online Cancer Support for Patients - information also supplied by Macmillan.

PROSTATE CANCER WILL AFFECT ONE IN EIGHT MEN DURING THEIR LIFETIME

Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in UK men. Annual Prostate Cancer deaths in 2018 exceeded those due to Breast Cancer for the first time ever and in 2020 Prostate became the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK.

Around 47,000 UK men are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer each year. That's 129 men every day. In the UK, about 11,500 men die of Prostate Cancer every year and that's one man every 45 minutes.

One in eight men will be diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in their lifetime. The risk rises to one in four for black men. 

Prostate Cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50 and the risk increases with age. But the risk is higher for black men and men with a family history of Prostate Cancer, so they may wish to speak to their GP once they are over 45.

The good news, however, is that around 400,000 men are currently living with and beyond Prostate Cancer. The main aim of our group is to encourage and enable men to discover whether they have prostate problems so that they can seek the appropriate medical advice and, if necessary, treatment early enough to effect a cure.

Early diagnosis is all-important. If Prostate Cancer is detected early, then the treatment options are more likely to be effective and there is a much better chance of a successful outcome.

OUR GROUP

Welcome to the website of the Leighton Hospital Prostate Cancer Support Group.  Before the pandemic, it was a patient-led group holding bi-monthly meetings, awareness events, and regular PSA testing sessions in Cheshire.

The pandemic has forced us to reconsider what the Group is able to do. The committee is currently discussing what activities we should be doing in future. However, we can say with certainty that we will no longer be managing our own PSA Testing sessions.

The group started in 2000 to offer support and advice to men (and their families) who have been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.  It was founded by our former Chairman the late Gary Steele MBE.

We have a close association with Leighton Hospital near Crewe. Leighton Hospital is part of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Many of our members were diagnosed with Prostate Cancer by consultants in the Leighton Urology department.  Over the years our fund raising efforts have provided equipment for use within the hospital, and it is at Leighton where our bi-monthly meetings are held. 

Click News to see a selection of items from the Media and about our Group.

Our group has three main objectives: 

1.      Support       

Before the group started, many men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at Leighton found there was no post-diagnosis support for them and their families.  Our group has aimed to provide this.

2.      Awareness         

Not so long ago many men knew nothing about Prostate Cancer before being diagnosed.  We try to make as many men as possible aware of this killer disease.

3.      PSA testing         

Our group believes that there are significant benefits of screening men for prostate problems linked to raised PSA, including cancer, using an enhanced PSA test. Up to Spring 2020, the Group used to offer regular drop-in PSA testing sessions to as many men as possible to enable early diagnosis. We halted our own testing sessions when the pandemic lockdown commenced and decided over Winter 2020/21 not to resume. 

Despite halting its own PSA testing sessions, the Group strongly recommends men to be aware of their prostate symptoms and to take advantage of a PSA test to help diagnose any problems as early as possible. Please click the menu item PSA Testing to find out more.