This Christmas, help thousands of men get more precise MRI scans
The path to a prostate cancer diagnosis is not always a straightforward one.
Currently, if doctors suspect a man has prostate cancer – due to raised PSA levels – the next step will be an MRI scan. If a suspicious area is found, further investigation may be required. This often results in a biopsy, where needles are used to take samples from the prostate. Whilst not always, this is an invasive procedure that can be painful.
Although biopsies can result in great news for men, with around half of them showing there's no clinically significant cancer, wouldn’t it be better if we could prevent the unnecessary discomfort of a biopsy from that diagnosis pathway?
Will you donate to help thousands of men avoid a potentially painful biopsy?
Help doctors find the missing piece
That’s why we’re funding the ASPIRE trial, which will test a new type of highly detailed MRI scan that could help doctors safely decide that thousands of men each year don’t need a biopsy.
Thanks to your previous support, Professor Shonit Punwani, at University College London, and his colleagues have developed a new type of MRI scan that could provide the missing piece doctors need: much more detailed images of the prostate, so thousands of men every year can be spared a biopsy.
Our previous study, INNOVATE, showed that the new scan is effective. Now, ASPIRE will assess if it works reliably on all existing types of NHS MRI scanner. This is the vital next step before it can go into a clinical trial and then, hopefully, be used in NHS hospitals.
You can help thousands of men get the good news that they don’t need a biopsy.
I passed out when I had my biopsy. If some men don't have to go through that, it'll be a huge bonus...
Bobby's Story
Bobby Cox, 72, from Bristol was working as a roofer on top of a school when he first learned some symptoms he was having might be a sign of prostate cancer. As part of the process of getting diagnosed, he had a biopsy. "I didn't come out of that too well. I've never been tasered, but that's what it felt like.”
Bobby has always loved Christmas – it's when he proposed to his late wife, and when his daughter and granddaughter celebrate their birthdays. But the year of his diagnosis, Christmas wasn’t so simple. “I used to be a chef, so cooking Christmas dinner for 10 was easy peasy until my prostate cancer diagnosis, It was such a struggle because of the pain. My daughter Leanne had to cook that year.” Bobby says.
Undergoing tests for suspected prostate cancer is a challenging time for men and their families at any time of year. This Christmas you can play your part in lightening that load – by funding ASPIRE, you can ensure men and their families don’t have to experience medical procedures that could be avoided.
