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Palace: “Prince Philip does not have prostate cancer” Buckingham Palace has denied a report that Prince Philip has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The palace has released a statement saying: "The Duke of Edinburgh has authorised us to confirm that the claim made by the Evening Standard that he has received a 'diagnosis of prostate cancer' is untrue." The Evening Standard reported that the 87-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth was diagnosed with prostate cancer while he was being treated for a chest infection in April of this year. Prostate cancer generally affects men over the age of 50, around 32,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. One man dies every hour from prostate cancer in the UK. It has become the second most common cancer in men. Over the next decade the incidence has been predicted to rise considerably, overtaking lung and breast cancer. Prostate cancer can be detected early by testing the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in your blood. Prostate cancer may also be found on a digital rectal exam (DRE), in which your doctor inserts a gloved finger into the rectum. It is now possible to perform a PSA test at home. About one in three men over the age of 50 have some cancer cells within their prostate and nearly all men over the age of 80 have a small area of prostate cancer. Most of these cancers grow extremely slowly and so, particularly in elderly men, will never cause any problems. In a small proportion of men, the prostate cancer can grow more quickly and in some cases may spread to other parts of the body, particularly the bones.
The American Cancer Society believes that the PSA test and digital rectal exam should be carried out annually beginning at the age of 50. Men at high risk, such as African Americans and men who have a first-degree relative (father, brother, or son) diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age (younger than age 65), should begin testing at 45.
Men at even higher risk (because they have several first-degree relatives who had prostate cancer at an early age) could begin testing at age 40.
For more information on the PSA Home Test please click here
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