Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows increase in prostate cancer deaths

New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has revealed a growing number of men are dying from prostate cancer.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA), says the data shows a 25 percent increase in deaths from prostate cancer since 2007.

In a special report, Australian Community Media's Damian McGill talks to a prostate cancer survivor and a men's health group coordinator to talk about issues.

For Ulladulla prostate cancer survivor, Allan Brook, it's all about asking questions, getting tested and asking more questions.

It's coming up to seven years since he opted to have his prostate removed and was happy to tell his story - if it helps other men.

Allan, at first, did not worry about the results of the PSA test [Prostate-Specific Antigen test which is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer] he got.

The result was not high - but then a few more scans and tests later confirmed the worst.

"I had the dreaded cancer and it was not far away from getting out of the prostate and into the bones," he said about the results after further testing.

The decision he had to make was whether to get the prostate out, go on radiation or have brachytherapy - a type of internal radiotherapy.

He took the advice he was given by his medical team and the friends he spoke to and decided to get his prostate removed.

Allan thinks he made the right decision about having the operation to remove the prostate but wonders if had radiotherapy if he would have the same issues, like incontinence, he has now.

This is why he says to other men facing the same situation to ask questions and seek advice from as many people as they can.

He is a PSA test advocate.

"My son is about 45-year-of-age and I am going to tell him to get the checks," Allan said.

Allan said if he knew what he knew now he would also have had a PSA done when he was younger.

"You don't care when you are younger because you think you are indestructible. I thought I was indestructible right up until my 60's," he said.

His advice is to be proactive about your health and keep asking until you get the test you want, get further advice and ask to see another doctor - if you are unhappy with the person you are seeing.

Allan has always been one to do some exercise and look after his health in general.

He now has two lots of cancers - he also has metastatic [cancer that spreads from where it started to a distant part of the body] melanoma [skin cancer] - he was only given two months to live but proved everyone wrong.

Allan still enjoys life and is a respected volunteer with the Marine Rescue Association, rides his pushbike any chance he gets and exercises every morning.

"It [the cancer and then operation] knocks you around," he said

"It just makes you age a bit quicker - I think," he said about having his prostate removed.

Health advocate Peter Still will support anything that will save a man's life.

He is saddened by the release of new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that shows a growing number of men are dying from prostate cancer.

The data says 3700 men will die of prostate cancer in 2023.

Peter, the convenor of the Men's Health and Cancer Support Group of Milton and Ulladulla, said something needs to be done to reduce this number.

He has heard cases of men not even knowing they have prostate cancer because testing options were never discussed with them.

"They [men who had no testing] had no symptoms or negligible symptoms and they did not worry about it. By the time they were diagnosed with prostate cancer it was already in the metastatic state," he said

Metastatic prostate cancer means the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of the body. It is sometimes called advanced prostate cancer. It most commonly spreads to lymph nodes in other parts of the body or to the bones.

"I think we should be proactive with our mates," he said, suggesting men should encourage their mates to look after their health.

He says men who have had experience with prostate cancer or worked within a prostate cancer group or even survivors should be talking openly with their mates about the condition.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about - prostate cancer is life-threatening," he said.

"If you saw your mate was going to walk in front of a semi-trailer you would step forward and grab him to get him out of the way. Then why let him walk in front of a bloody prostate cancer case?

"It's up to us to talk to each other and not hide things.

"I consistently reinforce to my group that we are ambassadors for our friends and neighbours," Peter said.

As ambassadors, he says it's up to him and other members of the men's health group to talk to people about what they had been through regarding prostate and others forms of cancer.

He said such conversations about getting a test and mates encouraging their mates not to dismiss symptoms could save someone's life.

There is a high proportion of men associated with the Men's Health and Cancer Support Group of Milton and Ulladulla who are prostate cancer survivors.

Peter recently wrote a letter to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee [PBAC] to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia's [PCFA] request to fast-track Olaparib [Lynparza] to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

He wrote the letter as the PCFA is urging for the fast-tracking of the drug and asked for various men's groups to also write letters "to assist their case" on urging the PBAC to fast-track Olaparib into the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

"It's a breakthrough drug that can alleviate the problems and help treat metastatic prostate cancer," Peter said.

The increase deaths is in is in part due to an "alarmingly high level of unawareness", according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia head of research Professor Jeff Dunn told Australian Community Media in an earlier interview.

"If we can diagnose all men at the earliest stage and ensure they have access to new medicines and care, we can beat this disease," he said.

"For men with a family history of disease, we need to give much clearer guidance about their risks and screening options."

Only about 36 per cent of prostate cancers are diagnosed at stage one when it can be more effectively treated.

And with Australia's population ageing the number of men being diagnosed is expected to skyrocket.

PCFA chief executive Anne Savage said more than 3700 men will die of prostate cancer in 2023.

"With concerted action, many of these deaths can be avoided," she said.

"We hope to bring together government, health services and patients to create a new way forward."