This issue about prostate cancer being a bigger killer than breast cancer

[StealthPolarBear]

It's a breast cancer success story, right?
I know prostate cancer is a huge issue but why has this good news story been hijacked and reported as a huge problem?

[StealthPolarBear]

Bump

[Asiaticlily]

I think I understand where you're coming from but I'm not sure I'd ever say that anyone getting cancer can be described as a good story?

It's great that breast cancer survival might have gone up but knowing someone with terminal cancer, which originated in the prostate I think that it's right to increase awareness of this particular cancer and to encourage men to be proactive about their health.

[JJPP123]

It is a breast cancer success story. They should've taken the angle of looking at how to improve prostate cancer survival by implementing similar campaigns as we have for breast cancer. Instead the news report seem to have taken on a sexism agenda which is just stupid.

[ChaosNeverRains]

Erm, why would you see more people dying from prostate cancer as a breast cancer success story?

The reality is that breast cancer survival is on the increase precisely because of how much attention it receives. Breast cancer awareness month, pink this and that for breast cancer awareness, all the money for which goes into research which has gone into treatment which has gone into better recovery rates.

And meanwhile the rate of breast cancer has gone down and the number of deaths from prostate cancer has now overtaken that from breast cancer. And if you want to add others to the equation, over 8000 people a day are diagnosed with a brain tumour and yet only 2% of funding goes into research.

To suggest that a story about a different cancer is highjacking breast cancer is somewhat crass and insensitive to those who are victims of other cancers.

[StealthPolarBear]

But why has the breast cancer story turn into a story about prostate cancer. I know prostate cancer is important. No denying that. But that is another story.

[overnightangel]

Goady

[Asiaticlily]

JJPP - I agree

I'm all for using the success of treating other cancers and applying this to those that don't seem to have had enough breakthrough or funding, there's certainly a lot which could be taken from breast cancer awareness.

[StealthPolarBear]

Chaos because the story is that survival from breast cancer has gone up. Which is a success story.

[StealthPolarBear]

Report then overnight. Or debate like a grown up.

[ReggaetonLente]

I agree OP. It should be a story about the importance of research, awareness and public health policy.

Prostate cancer is sadly about 20 years behind BC in all of those things.

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes and that's ax huge issue I agree. It would be lovely to have lessons learned applied. Just a shame they couldnt celebrate the good news first.

[CapnHaddock]

The message from this should have been: 'Wow - the efforts that women have made to fund BC research have made an enormous difference in survival rates. So much so in fact, that BC rates are now lower than PC rates! This is a phenomenal result and really demonstrates the power of people getting behind a campaign and the difference that additional funding can make. If men could get behind PC in the same way, I expect to see a similar impact'.

[StealthPolarBear]

Exactly

[ReggaetonLente]

YES!!

[OutsideContextProblem]

Prostate cancer survival rates are improving steadily year on year - just not as fast as breast cancer survival rates.

It's a bogus story from a statistical point of view, but I guess people think it's worthwhile running a misleading headline in the interest of raising awareness, and encouraging funders and policy makers to turn their focus on prostate cancer.

[ChaosNeverRains]

Jesus christ. Must everything become a women’s issue? People are dying from prostate cancer. That is bad news. The fact that more people are dying from prostate cancer is not a good news story.

If the headline was that more people are dying from brain tumours than breast cancer would you see that as “highjacking” a breast cancer good news story? Or is it only because men get prostate cancer and not women.

[OutsideContextProblem]

More men dying from prostate cancer isn't a good news story, but it's not a bad news story either - it's because there are more men in the UK, and more old men in particular.

[bookgirl1982]

What it doesn't say is how old the men are who are dying of prostate cancer. I suspect they are in mainly 70+ whereas the improvement in breast cancer survival is (relatively) younger women.

[CapnHaddock]

Chaos - are you hard of thinking? More women used to die from breast cancer than men used to die from prostate cancer. As a result of a concerted effort by women to raise funds for research into breast cancer, death rates are falling. That is a good thing.

It does not mean anyone's celebrating men dying of prostate cancer.

[ChaosNeverRains]

But it’s not a women’s highjacking story either. But everything has an anti woman agenda according to some.

I’m sure the women on here whose partners and husbands have dared to die of prostate cancer will be thrilled that their partners’ deaths are good news for breast cancer and sorry that their loss has highjacked the success of breast cancer treatment.

[OutsideContextProblem]

I did the sums on the back of an envelope from the government statistics a while ago, and whilst the numbers of deaths due to prostate cancer and breast cancer have been roughly the same for the last decade, the number of years of life lost to breast cancer are approximately twice those lost to prostate cancer.

[ChaosNeverRains]

No it’s a thread designed to goad and promote an agenda. The OP clearly states that the good news about breast cancer is being highjacked by the higher rates in prostate cancer deaths.

[Ifailed]

It's a simple comparison, whose 'hijacking' the drop in breast cancer deaths?

[ChaosNeverRains]

So let’s talk about brain cancer then. 2% of funding goes to research into brain cancer meaning that survival rates haven’t changed.

Skin cancer is on the increase due to lack of awareness back in the day. Lung cancer, colon cancer... in fact a survey recently showed that around 70% of cancers are preventable through lifestyle.

Should it be down to individuals to promote awareness? Or perhaps the medics should be looking at survival rates and looking at re-allocating funding accordingly.

The instant you make this about a specific group of people rather than a cancer issue your argument is lost. Because any death from terminal cancer is tragic. It’s of course positive for survivers if they have a higher chance of survival than say 50 years ago, however for the non surviver the loss is no different.

So from a “breast cancer survival rates have increased” point of view the news about BC is good. But on a parenting forum where you are going to have partners, daughters, mothers of men who have and will die from prostate cancer, claiming that a story about prostate cancer is a highjack of breast cancer is crass and insensitive and has no place.

[BarbaraofSevillle]

Have breast cancer death rates fallen to below those for prostrate cancer or have prostrate cancer death rates risen?

Either way, we need a national screening programme for prostate cancer that is likely to involve some unpleasant fiddling about with male genitalia or rectum so men either won't attend or will moan about like it is the worst thing ever.