Understanding the experiences and needs of Black men affected by prostate cancer is vital to us in ensuring that our services are appropriate.

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We have explored the experiences of Black men diagnosed with prostate cancer to understand what their service and support needs are.

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If you are of African, African Caribbean or dual heritage descent, you can use your experience to make a difference. We would like to hear from you.

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Evidence shows that people from BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) communities are often under-represented in clinical trials so we’re working with Research Champions and with community groups to help more Black men understand how they can take part in research safely. We’re also looking at some research to explore what factors affect participation in clinical research.

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We work in partnership with community groups to raise awareness of prostate cancer in the heart of the Black community. We want to run a Community programme to encourage Black men to get together with their friends and talk about prostate cancer. This would be in the form of the Man Van we are trying to raise funds for.

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We want to develop and test new ways of addressing inequalities in prostate health which are caused by cultural, social and economic factors. For example we know that Black men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than other ethnicities but are also less likely to be willing to be tested for the disease.

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We also know that men from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to be proactive about their prostate health. Our work therefore looks at how we can improve awareness among these groups of men and encourage them to take ownership of their health. We’ve tested different ways raising awareness, in order to engage with this audience in the most targeted and powerful way.

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Research is being done to find out, why black men are more likely to get prostate cancer but so far, no definite reasons have been found.

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We do know that higher rates of prostate cancer are seen in men of African descent across the UK, US, Caribbean and West Africa, and this could suggest a genetic link between these men and their prostate cancer risk.

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Other factors, such as diet, could also affect the risk of developing prostate cancer. Increasing age is the most important risk factor.

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Prostate cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50 and risk increases with age. All men aged over 50 are entitled to have a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test as long as they have first talked through the pros and cons with their GP.

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However, some men do develop prostate cancer at a younger age than 50.  So if you are in your 40’s and you are worried about prostate cancer because you are in a high risk group or have symptoms, speak to us confidentially, to discuss whether a test is right for you. Prostate cancer awareness provides information and support to all men affected by prostate cancer.

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We carry out research to understand how prostate cancer impacts on the Black community and we will be investing in research to build our knowledge of why Black men are more likely to develop this disease. We also work closely with the Black community to deliver activities that inform men of their risk, and support them to act on any concerns or questions they have about prostate problems or prostate cancer as soon as possible.

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We want to launch the man van programme, working closely with organizations and individuals in the Black community to build an ambitious programme for addressing prostate cancer in this community.

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We need your help, it is said ‘the Lord helps those who help themselves’ please support what prostate cancer awareness is doing in our black community.