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David Cameron has disclosed he was treated for prostate cancer and has called for a targeted screening programme.
The former prime minister said he had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which looks for proteins associated with the form of the disease. The result was high and he subsequently had a biopsy which revealed the cancer.
Lord Cameron, 59, told the Times: “You always hope for the best. You have a high PSA score – that’s probably nothing.
“You have an MRI scan with a few black marks on it. You think, ‘Ah, that’s probably OK.’ But when the biopsy comes back, and it says you have got prostate cancer.
“You always dread hearing those words. And then literally as they’re coming out of the doctor’s mouth you’re thinking, ‘Oh, no, he’s going to say it. He’s going to say it. Oh God, he said it.’”
The former Conservative party leader was urged to get tested by his wife, Samantha, after the couple heard the founder of Soho House, Nick Jones, speaking about his diagnosis on the radio, the Times reported.
Cameron has called on the government to introduce screening to detect cases earlier, when treatment is more likely to succeed.
He said: “I want to, as it were, come out. I want to add my name to the long list of people calling for a targeted screening programme.
“I don’t particularly like discussing my personal intimate health issues, but I feel I ought to. Let’s be honest. Men are not very good at talking about their health. We tend to put things off.”
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in males in the UK, with about 55,000 new cases every year.
There is no screening programme for the form of the disease in the UK because of concerns about the accuracy of PSA tests.
In October 2024, Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic gold medallist, disclosed he has a terminal cancer diagnosis.
He said a scan found the main cancer to be in his prostate which has metastasised to his shoulder, pelvis, hip, ribs and spine and was stage 4.
Cameron resigned as prime minister and as an MP in his Oxfordshire seat of Witney in 2016. He was made foreign secretary by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak in 2023 and was also made a life peer and a member of the House of Lords.
His announcement comes days after the first eligible men in the UK were invited to join a major trial testing the most promising screening techniques for the disease.
The Transform project will compare screening methods to current NHS diagnostic processes – which can include blood tests and biopsies.
It will be delivered in partnership with the NHS through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, which has committed £16m in funding, with the remainder coming from charity Prostate Cancer UK.
The launch comes as the UK National Screening Committee prepares to announce its decision on whether current evidence supports the introduction of screening for the disease.
