The Testing Choices campaign

The Testing Choices campaign aims to ensure that all men at higher risk of prostate cancer can access the balanced information and one-to-one support they need to make an informed choice about whether or not to have a PSA test.

What is the PSA test?

The PSA test is a blood test that can help diagnose prostate problems, including prostate cancer.


What is Testing Choices trying to achieve?

Working out whether or not to have a PSA test is a 'testing choice'. Men need to weigh up a whole range of pros and cons before deciding if it's right for them.

 

To make an informed choice, men need to know about the test. Yet, research by Prostate Cancer UK shows that two thirds of men over 50 don't even know it exists.

 

Unfortunately, very little is being done by the NHS to improve men's awareness. The current programme for helping men think about the PSA test - the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme - only helps men who already know about it.

 

The Charity believes this has to change. We need a programme that's able to reach every man who's at higher risk of prostate cancer, not just the few men who are already aware. To make this possible we need two things.

 

First, we need politicians and NHS officials to recognise the need for an improved programme that can help all men at higher risk of prostate cancer consider the pros and cons of the PSA test.

 

Second, we need to find out the best ways of communicating with men about the test. The Charity has developed a number of new ways of providing this information which it now needs to test.

 

Once the new approaches have been tested to find out which work best, the Charity will campaign for them to be rolled out across the country as part of an improved programme to raise awareness of the PSA test.

+

Why isn't there a national screening programme for prostate cancer at the moment?

The UK National Screening Committee has decided that the disadvantages of regularly screening every man over 50 for prostate cancer using the PSA test outweigh the possible advantages. It has been found that screening can reduce the number of deaths from prostate cancer. But screening also leads to the over-diagnosis and possible over treatment of 'harmless' prostate cancers that wouldn't harm a man in his lifetime. At present, the Charity supports this position on screening. But we are keeping a close eye on developing research into screening for prostate cancer.

+

What's the Government's policy on PSA testing?

The UK Government also believes that all men are entitled to make an informed choice about whether or not they should have a PSA test, based on balanced information about its pros and cons. All men are entitled to have the test on the NHS if they want it.

The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) has been developed for use by GPs. If a man wants a PSA test he can ask his GP for one, and his doctor should give him balanced information. The PCRMP has been adopted by the Health Departments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

+

If the Government supports men's right to an informed choice about whether or not to have a PSA test, why do we need this campaign?

The Charity believes that the PCRMP is not working. The programme's messages are right but the way it is delivered is wrong. It only helps men who are already aware of prostate cancer and the PSA test. Men can only get information about the PSA test if they already know to ask their GP for it.

Two thirds of men over 50 are unaware of the PSA test and one in five GPs never talk about the PSA test with at-risk groups, unless they have potential symptoms of prostate cancer. However not all men with prostate cancer will have symptoms. This means that men are not able to make an informed choice about the PSA test.

Prostate Cancer UK believes that the UK needs an improved programme that better provides balanced information about the PSA test and prostate cancer risk to all men aged over 50, and younger men at higher risk of the disease.

+

What does the Charity want to see in this improved programme?

The Charity has developed a number of new ways of providing men with information about the PSA test in partnership with men over 50, health professionals and academics. We will be testing these new approaches over the next two years across the country.

We will use what we learn to inform the development of a programme that better provides balanced information about the PSA test. We will then campaign for this programme to put in place across the UK.

Understanding the PSA test

Understanding the PSA test: A guide for men concerned about prostate cancer

This booklet is for men who are considering having a PSA test or want to know more about PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen). Patient Information Award Winner for Men's Health (2009) at the BMA Medical Book awards.