AACKA Shining A Light On Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month UK will be celebrated during the month of March 2026.
As part of Cancer Awareness Day (4th February 2026) AACKA is shining a light on this cancer because research has shown that:
In the UK, about 1 in 8 men are diagnosed with it each year. For Black men the rate is 1 in 4. If you are a trans woman or are non-binary assigned male at birth, you also need to be aware of prostate cancer and its symptoms (macmillan.org.uk).
There is a wealth of information available to read and research, some of which we will be highlighting in a future blog.
Below Information provided by www.nhs.uk
Prostate cancer affects the prostate gland under the bladder and usually happens to men over 50 years old. There are different treatments and it can often be cured if diagnosed early.
Prostate cancer often has no symptoms at first.
Prostate cancer usually starts to grow on the outer part of the prostate. This means it does not press on the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis (urethra) and cause symptoms, until the cancer has grown or spread.
If this happens, it can cause changes to the way you pee, such as:
finding it difficult to start peeing or straining to pee
having a weak flow of urine
"stop start" peeing
needing to pee urgently or often, or both
feeling like you still need to pee when you've just finished
peeing during the night
Other symptoms can include:
erectile dysfunction (being unable to get or keep an erection)
blood in your urine or blood in your semen
lower back pain and losing weight without trying to (these may be symptoms of advanced prostate cancer)
See your GP if:
you're over 50 years old, come from a Black ethnic background or have a
history of prostate cancer in your family and you're worried about your risk of prostate cancer
you're having trouble peeing or other symptoms of prostate cancer
If you're at higher risk of having prostate cancer, you can ask your GP about doing a blood test that shows if there are any problems with your prostate.
Try not to be embarrassed if you have possible symptoms of prostate cancer. The doctor or nurse will be used to talking about these symptoms.
Important
These symptoms do not always mean you have prostate cancer. You can also get some of these symptoms if you have an enlarged prostate. This is a non-cancerous condition caused by the prostate getting larger as you get older.
You might find you get used to some of these symptoms. But it's important to be checked by a GP if your symptoms change, get worse, or do not feel normal.
Black Men and Prostate Cancer
www.prostatecanceruk.org
Prostate cancer: the facts
1 in 4 Black men will get prostate cancer. That's double the risk of other men.
As a Black man, you're also more likely to get prostate cancer if:
you're 45 or over – and your risk gets higher as you get older
your dad or brother has had prostate cancer
your mum or sister has had breast cancer.
For more information you can download a leaflet from the Prostate Cancer UK website which is titled ‘Prostate Cancer and Other Prostate Problems (Information for black men).
