Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed that he underwent treatment for prostate cancer and called on authorities to introduce targeted early detection programs to diagnose the disease at stages when treatment is most successful.
Cameron, now 59 years old Lord and Foreign Secretary, spoke publicly for the first time about his experience in an interview with The Times. He pointed out that he is reluctant to talk about health problems, but he decided to share his story to encourage men to get regular checkups, especially when it comes to the prostate.
He said that a routine examination revealed irregularities that prompted him to conduct further tests. After a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis, he was faced with a choice between monitoring the disease or active treatment. He decided on minimally invasive focal therapy, a method by which cancerous cells are destroyed with precise electrical impulses, with maximum respect for the surrounding nerves and tissues.
Cameron emphasized that about half of prostate cancer cases are still detected at an advanced stage, when the chances of a successful outcome are significantly reduced. While the ten-year survival in the early stages of the disease is over 90 percent, it drops to less than 20 percent in metastatic cancer.
– I would feel wrong if I didn’t say that the examination literally saved my life – said Cameron, appealing to the government to expand and improve strategies for early detection of this disease.
(Vijesti.ba)
