On his former channel, the former Sky News host urged men to “demand” a prostate cancer test.
Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has admitted his diagnosis was “a bolt from the blue” as he found out he had stage four prostate cancer on holiday.
On his former television show, the TV host and journalist called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to launch screenings in full.
After receiving chemotherapy, 67-year-old Murnaghan said he is “feeling pretty good” in a statement to Anna Jones on Sky News.
However, he acknowledged that he didn’t experience the typical symptoms of prostate cancer, such as frequent or urgent urinations or the presence of blood, but that he “fell very ill on a foreign holiday,” which led to the discovery of the cancer.
According to Murnaghan, men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as it frequently happens with other cancers because there is no formal screening program” for prostate cancer.”
He claimed that he would advise men of a certain age to “go and demand it” if there was no screening program.
Murnaghan remarked on how he deterred screening, “In my own case, I slipped through those gaps.
I foolishly spent many years speaking to people in your [presenter Anna Jones] position about this issue and asking men, especially those over 50, men in high risk groups who may have a family history of it to go to this screening…
And I kept thinking, “I’ll do that once I reach that age,” I kept thinking.
Life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays, etc., and I never did…
What transpired was that I fell extremely ill on a foreign holiday and promptly returned to this country to get treated by a wonderful health service, which gave me a real bolt from the blue.”
After being treated by the NHS and going for tests he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.
He claimed that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests should be offered in the same way that cancer screenings are becoming more accurate and that they should be.
He said, “Think about the money you save, even though they might cost a little bit more.”
He continued, “Once you cross that milestone, go and demand it, your GP will eventually give you one,” while also urging men to get tested. Get prostate cancer if your family has it if it has a history.
He claimed that he had finished his own chemotherapy over the summer.
I finished my chemotherapy in the beginning of July, and I’ve since recovered. Just how it turns out, we’re anticipating it. But he continued, “I’m feeling pretty good.”
What do I do now that it has stopped, and you feel like you are actively doing something in the hands of wonderful medical professionals who know what they’re doing?
They can see how much it’s been accomplished, but I’m in the waiting and seeing phase.
It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.
According to Cancer Research UK, there is no reliable test to identify cancer that needs treatment early because the UK does not have a national screening program for prostate cancer.
Source: Mirror
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