Former Prime Minister reveals he had prostate cancer

Former Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed he has been treated for prostate cancer.

Lord Cameron, 59, told the Times newspaper that his wife Samantha had insisted he have a post-natal check-up inspired by a BBC radio interview with entrepreneur Nick Joneswho advocated for more men to be tested after receiving a diagnosis himself.

He had a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test earlier this year, followed by an MRI scan and biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis. He was treated with focal therapy, which targets the area where the tumor is located, using methods such as ultrasound waves to destroy cancer cells.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the UK, with around 55,000 new cases every year.

Lord Cameron told the newspaper he wanted to use his platform to support a call by Prostate Cancer Research, a charity whose trustees include Mr Jones, founder of private club chain Soho House, to offer screening to men at high risk.

The cancer most often occurs in old age – in men over 75 years of age. Cases in people under 50 are rare. It is also more common in black men.

“I don’t particularly like talking about my personal intimate health problems, but I feel like I should,” said Lord Cameron.

“Let’s face it. Men aren’t great at talking about their health. We tend to put things off.”

But he said, “I kind of thought, well, this happened to you and you should lend your voice to it.”

Lord Cameron, Prime Minister between 2010 and 2016 and later Foreign Secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government, told the Times: “I would feel bad if I didn’t come forward and say that I had this experience.

Due to concerns about the accuracy of PSA testing, there is currently no screening program for prostate cancer in the UK.

But the colleague’s intervention comes just a few days after the start of a large study on prostate cancer screening in the country. The goal is to find the best way to detect the disease.

About one in eight men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimeaccording to Prostate Cancer UK, with research showing it has overtaken breast cancer as the most commonly diagnosed form of the disease in the UK.