Prostate cancer survivors now live longer than the average man - as long as the disease is caught early:
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Prostate cancer survivors live longer than men without the disease - if symptoms are caught early, new figures show. Experts said the statistics suggest that a diagnosis of the disease could act as a ‘wake up call,’ with such patients more likely to keep a close eye on their own health, and attempt to improve their lifestyles. The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are the first robust estimates showing how survival from a range of cancers varies, depending on when it is diagnosed. When prostate cancer was spotted early - at stage one - men had five-year survival rates 0.5 per cent higher than men of the same age in the general population. Overall, cases diagnosed at stage one and two are now achieving five-year survival rates of 100 per cent, the figures show. Even when the disease was spotted at stage three, five-year survival rates are now 96.5 per cent, the figures show, with survival rates of just 47.7 per cent among those diagnosed later. Overall, survival for the disease across all stages has risen from 80.2 per cent in 2006 to 87.1 per cent, the figures show. It follows a series of breakthroughs in treatment for advanced disease, as well as efforts to diagnose prostate cancer earlier. Karen Stalbow, head of policy at Prostate Cancer UK said: “These updated cancer survival statistics reiterate the importance of catching prostate cancer early. “Nearly 40 per cent of cases of the disease are still only caught at a late stage when the chances of living for five or ten-years are greatly reduced.” “The fact that the survival chances for men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer appear to be even higher than men without a diagnosis is certainly positive, and may also indicate that a diagnosis can lead to increased personal health monitoring and healthier behaviours post diagnosis,” she said. The facts | Prostate cancer The charity said the figures show the importance of finding better diagnostic tools to catch more prostate cancers early. Prostate cancer is different to other forms of cancer in that while some are aggressive, most do not cause any symptoms. Men can survive without treatment. But it is not possible to distinguish between the two types using the current blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein produced by the gland where higher levels make cancer more likely. The ONS said the figures are the first robust estimates based on five years' worth of diagnoses to show how survival from a range of cancers varies - depending on when it is diagnosed. But cancer charities said the overall figures showed “a mixed picture” for several cancers. While survival of breast, prostate and bowel cancer has improved marginally in the last year, it is lower than in 2013, the figures show. Five year survival of breast cancer is now 85.3 per cent, compared with 85.6 per cent in 2013. And latest five-year survival rates of prostate cancer - at 87.1 per cent - are a drop on 87.3 per cent in 20
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