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Original poster

People with prostate cancer - do you think men will start to get it now?

33 replies

SorryAuntLydia · 27/12/2021 11:26

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59783179

‘ People with prostates’
‘Prostate cancer can be slow growing and tends to affect people in old age.’

Prof Eeles from Cancer Research does mention men… but only as a statistic and it’s easy to miss.

According to the article, the symptoms of prostate cancer include
‘needing to pee more frequently particularly at night’
‘difficulty starting to pee, weak flow and it taking a long time’
Plenty of of women tick both these boxes…

Yet again, BBC standards are failed by blind adherence to gender woo.

As a woman who lost a much loved relative to a late diagnosis of prostate cancer, I am appalled that the BBC is failing to inform and educate men about something so important.

OP posts:
sashagabadon · 27/12/2021 11:35

Yes you are right. It is a very jarring article. I am left wondering if I could develop prostate cancer later in life ( I definitely can’t)
It’s prioritising inclusivity over clear information and accuracy.
Funnily enough I have just listened to a discussion on improving scientific communication in relation to covid (as it has been so misleading and confusing at times) and this principle equally applies to medical journalism too.
This is a good example of misleading and confusing medical journalism.

Whatwouldscullydo · 27/12/2021 11:35

Urgh.

They can only do this because someone else explained the reality to the girls/boys/men/women.

They only appear to he the good guys because of people like us.

Shame on the BBC! Men and women deserve to know and need to know what they need they need check for and why.

Plain English please. Cancer is not the time.to be worrying nore about language than getting important facts across

Rightsraptor · 27/12/2021 11:37

I heard that report early this morning and found myself shouting 'men' outloud whenever I heard 'people'. Which was odd because I usually have to shout 'women'.

InspiralCoalescenceRingdown · 27/12/2021 11:42

They can only do this because someone else explained the reality to the girls/boys/men/women.

Exactly this. Otherwise it wouldn't make any sense at all.

TheWeeDonkey · 27/12/2021 12:57

I think most men do get it, at least the men I talk with about this get it and not just that but are more GC than me. No quarter given, I think thats because as men they know exactly what some men are capable of and won't entertain it.

Datun · 27/12/2021 13:00

They can only do this because someone else explained the reality to the girls/boys/men/women.

Exactly. It's not just a harmless convention. It's layers of deceit. You wouldn't know you had a prostate unless you also knew that only men have prostates and what constitutes being a man.

I'd like to see one of these people explain how I know whether or not I've got a prostate.

Datun · 27/12/2021 13:03

Prostate cancer can be slow growing and tends to affect people in old age.

It's one of the arrogant manipulations that pisses me off.

They are assuming that we all know what a bloody man and woman is, while simultaneously forcing us to deny it.

DialSquare · 27/12/2021 13:20

One of my parents has prostrate cancer. Have a guess which one.

DialSquare · 27/12/2021 13:23

Prostate obviously. Must read before posting

LeuvenMan · 27/12/2021 13:31

Terrible article. My brother died at 56 from Metastatic Prostate Cancer, it's far from an old man's disease

Forestdweller11 · 27/12/2021 13:34

Prostrate cancer UK has men in large letters on its website. There can be no confusion there.

Tanith · 27/12/2021 14:47

@LeuvenMan

Terrible article. My brother died at 56 from Metastatic Prostate Cancer, it's far from an old man's disease
My father was 55 when he died. The GP had investigated other possible causes, thinking that prostrate cancer was extremely unlikely due to his age and, in any case, would develop slowly. Wrong on both counts.
Artichokeleaves · 27/12/2021 15:22

It’s prioritising inclusivity over clear information and accuracy.

I know what you mean, but in truth it is not prioritising inclusion.

Inclusion would also include the needs of men for clear information, men with learning difficulties, men who speak English as an additional language, men who may not know they have a prostate, and men who politically don't agree with being vanished into a vague mixed sex category.

It is very important not to let the word 'inclusion' be used to hide what it actually is. Which is centering an elite political position over the needs of everyone else, demonstrating political bias, excluding and removing accessibility to every other vulnerable group, and therefore failing in their brief. 'Inclusive' it is not. Inclusion would be 'men and (insert here words for male people who would prefer not to call themselves men). And lets face it, more than 99% of the males they are talking to will call themselves men. This is not even vaguely proportionate.

ArabellaScott · 27/12/2021 15:22

Well, there you go, I have done something for the menz today and made a complaint.

Blackandwhitehorse · 27/12/2021 17:19

@Artichokeleaves very well said.

My father died of this in his 50s when I was in my early 20s, when he was diagnosed I looked it up to see if I would also be at risk, then obviously discovering women don’t have prostates. I mean I was university educated (not that it means much!) and I didn’t have a clue. Loads of that you’d class as intelligent people don’t particularly know what a cervix, ovaries etc. are. It’s kind of assuming a level of knowledge that’s not there.

KimikosNightmare · 27/12/2021 17:51

@Forestdweller11

Prostrate cancer UK has men in large letters on its website. There can be no confusion there.
Tbh I don't think it would be amiss on the homepage to add a foot note that prostate cancer affects trans women too.

It is mentioned on the site but 2 or 3 clicks in.

KittenKong · 27/12/2021 18:01

There was a whole load about this on R4 this morning. Not a single mention of ‘persons’.

SantaClawsServiette · 27/12/2021 18:08

It's stupid, but my gut feeling is that it isn't likely to change many men's minds one way or the other. IME most men think genderism is stupid anyway and are less likely to give it credibility than women.

I don't think it's wrong to say that it generally affects older men. Statistics like that don't mean there are no outliers. But it's how screening programs are developed.

QueenofDestruction · 27/12/2021 18:16

My dad had prostrate cancer and my ovarian cancer was apparently inherited through that same gene of his. How can you explain that without referring to sex.

thequeerteacher · 27/12/2021 18:47

There are appears to be a lot of frustration directed at the BBC on it's coverage of this article.

Though it is concerning that the frustration is in it's language. The BBC is not particularly a trans ally (see the recent issues regarding one of it's articles) but the issue here is cancer.

Using the word "people" does not take away from the importance of getting regular check ups for a range of medical issues dependent on your age and medical/family history.

KittenKong · 27/12/2021 18:56

Of course it does. Language needs to be clear and I can’t thinking a more vital case when it refers to cancer checkups. To please some gas lighters?

Atmywitsend29 · 27/12/2021 18:58

It's so bloody frustrating. I've worked with many palliative and cancer patients, women cannot get prostate cancer. Only men can get it because only men have a prostate.
It's maddening to see them strip sexed language from things that are killing members of a specific sex!

I also take issue with the "old" thing, I think there needs to be more a push to make sure the public know any cancer can affect you at any age. Youth is no protection to cancer.
I've held the hand of a 27yo who died of skin cancer, a 45yo who died of a brain tumor, a 23year old who died of cervical cancer. My dad died of pancreatic cancer at 44. You're not too young to get these typically "old people cancers".

JellySaurus · 27/12/2021 23:15

I just showed the article to dh. When he finished reading it I said, "Maybe I should get checked. I sometimes have two of those symptoms." He looked worried, and replied "Maybe you should." Over the course of our conversation it became clear that this highly educated (PhD in a science subject) native English speaking man, has no idea what the prostate is, nor that it is a male organ.

This abuse of language is insanity!

Some people complain that feminists who do not include TWs are not feminists, claiming that feminism is about equality for all. Obviously it is not, if it was it would be called egalitarianism. Are we now going to be forced to fight for the right of men to have proper access to healthcare, in order to justify women also having that right?

Waitwhat23 · 28/12/2021 00:42

Around 50% of men don't know the purpose of the prostate or the signs of prostate cancer. Even without taking to account men who will find this 'inclusive language' confusing such as those with English as a second or additional language for example, how does muddying the waters by not using known, sex based terms help?

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