Nick Harvey, MP for North Devon, this week attended an event hosted by the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action to hear about their campaign to improve awareness and tackle the disease.

Prostate cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in men, with nearly 35,000 men in the UK diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. However the disease is complex and poses unique challenges. The number of deaths as a result of the disease is high with 10,000 men dying from it every year. This equates to at least one death every hour. The Prostate Cancer Charter for Action’s main objective is to see this figure reduced and the care and information for those men who develop it improved.

Commenting on the campaign, local MP Nick Harvey said:

“I was surprised to discover that such a high number of men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.

Equally staggering is the lack of awareness of prostate cancer which means that almost 40% of men are diagnosed after the cancer has already spread.

I should like to see to it that all men in North Devon are made aware of the potentially fatal implications of late diagnosis of the disease.”