UK ex-Prime Minister David Cameron opened up about his prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The former went public about his prostate cancer in the new interview as he called for targeted screening.
He was diagnosed with cancer after taking a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test on his wife Samantha’s request.
Cameron, who remained prime minister of the UK from 2010 until 2016, also revealed his older brother Alexander died of pancreatic cancer at the same age he is now.
He told The Times, “I would feel bad if I didn’t come forward and say that I have had this experience. I had a scan. It helped me discover something that was wrong. It gave me the chance to deal with it. You always dread hearing those words.”
“I had this decision to make, which lots of people with prostate cancer have. Do you watch and wait? Or do you look at what the treatment options are? Do I want to take the risk of not acting, or do I want to take the risks of acting?” the 59-year-old added.
The former foreign secretary opted for focal therapy, in which needles are used to deliver electric pulses to destroy cancer cells.
He noted that men are not good at talking about their health, but he came out and talked about it to add his name to the list of people “calling for a targeted screening program.”
Notably, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among UK men, with about 55,000 new cases and 12,000 deaths every year.
A recent trial showed that regular PSA tests for men over 50 could lower prostate cancer deaths by 13% over 20 years.
