Visits for prostate cancer symptoms advice on the NHS website
rose by 672% following Sir Chris Hoy's announcement about his
terminal prognosis.
New figures from NHS England show that in the 48 hours after the
six-time Olympic champion revealed his cancer was incurable,
there were 14,478 visits to the page on prostate cancer
symptoms. That is nearly eight times as many as over the same
period the previous week, when there were 1,876 visits.
Visits to the page peaked on Sunday with 8,816 visits, which is
the equivalent to one visit every 10 seconds.
The NHS website includes information on different forms of
cancer, spotting early signs and types of treatment.
NHS England's National Clinical Director for Cancer,
Professor Peter Johnson, said:
“We're very sorry to hear about Chris's prognosis, but his
decision to speak so openly about it could save lives by
encouraging people to come forward sooner with their symptoms.
“Thanks to his bravery, we have seen a significant spike in
people accessing vital information on our website about the signs
and symptoms of cancer.
“One in two people will develop some form of cancer in their
lifetime and detecting the disease early gives the best chance of
successful treatment.
“So, I would urge anyone who's noticed unusual or worrying
symptoms, to please contact their GP practice.”
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, , said:
“I am in awe of Chris' courage. He's done the country such an
enormous service by being as open and as positive as he has
been.
“From my own experience with cancer, I know how crucial it is to
catch it as early as possible, so it is truly encouraging to see
more people educating themselves about the symptoms of this awful
disease.
“We are investing in research to find better ways of testing for
prostate cancer, so that we can give people the best chances of
survival.”
Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
- needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
- needing to rush to the toilet
- difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
- straining or taking a long time while peeing
- weak flow
- feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
-
blood in
urine or blood in semen
These symptoms do not always mean you have prostate cancer. Many
men's prostates get larger as they get older because of a
non-cancerous condition called benign prostate enlargement.
In many cases symptoms will be caused by another condition, but
if it is cancer, finding it at an early stage means a better
chance of survival.
The NHS is seeing and treating record numbers of people for
cancer, with almost 3 million people receiving potentially
lifesaving cancer checks in the past year.
Making some simple changes to your lifestyle – such as healthy
eating, taking regular exercise and not smoking – can also
significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer.
The NHS website is the UK's
biggest health website and receives an average of 2 million
visits each day from people seeking information and advice. It
includes over 4,000 pages and provides information about 990
medical conditions.
