Late treatment heightens prostate cancer risk

Peter Verschaffelt Late treatment heightens prostate cancer risk

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The kaumatua of the Prostate Cancer Foundation says tane Maori are waiting too late to get checked for the disease – meaning it’s more likely to be fatal.

It’s Blue September, the foundation’s biggest fundraising event for the year..

Dene Ainsworth says Maori men are 20 percent less likely to be diagnosed with the disease than non-Maori and 50 percent more likely to die from the disease once diagnosed.

“When you are late presenting the changes of a successful treatment programme are highly compromised, so it’s the old story – if we get in early and get early detection, our chances of a successful outcome are much, much greater,” he says.

Mr Ainsworth says men should ask their doctor to include a PSA test every time they get a blood test, while as a way to detect traces of the cancer earlier.

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