{"id":312666,"date":"2025-11-28T17:21:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T17:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/312666\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T17:21:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T17:21:29","slug":"tony-robinson-thought-those-most-at-risk-would-have-got-cancer-screening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/312666\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Robinson \u2018thought those most at risk\u2019 would have got cancer screening"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor and TV presenter Sir Tony Robinson has said he \u201cthought those most at risk\u201d would have been recommended screening for prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

The 79-year-old was speaking to the Press Association after the UK National Screening Committee said in a draft recommendation that men with a known genetic risk should be screened for prostate cancer every two years, but testing all men was not advised because of the \u201charms\u201d of overdiagnosis.<\/p>\n

Sir Tony told PA: \u201cI\u2019m very disappointed, I didn\u2019t really expect that all men would be covered by any new ruling, but I certainly thought that those most at risk would \u2013 black men, those with inherited risk, elderly people who have double the risk of getting prostate cancer as others.<\/p>\n

\"Beatles<\/p>\n

Sir Tony Robinson has expressed his disappointment at the recommendation (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cSeemed to me that was conclusive evidence and very reasonable and pretty cost effective. So I am disappointed that hasn\u2019t happened\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the one of the real problems is this, when it came to breast cancer, enough women were so deeply concerned about it that they lobbied like crazy. Everybody knew that that debate was taking place, and in the end, they won. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s been the same among men.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a whole host of reasons for that, but hopefully now we\u2019ve had this knock back, more men start thinking \u2018Boy, this is not only unfair, it\u2019s actually potentially threatening my life\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd hopefully we\u2019ll see some more campaigning across the whole spectrum of men.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actor, who starred as Baldrick in Blackadder, had previously said that despite the news he was glad that the Transform test would \u201cget us a screening programme that invites all men at risk for a test\u201d, and that he can\u2019t wait to see what the science tells us in two years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

Launched by Prostate Cancer UK last week, the Transform trial will look into whether combining PSA with other tests, such as rapid MRI scans, could lead to a recommendation for population-wide screening.<\/p>\n

Sir Tony, who spoke about his own prostate cancer diagnosis in 2023, said he would \u201cabsolutely\u201d continue campaigning, reiterating that he thought one of the main factors putting men off was the rectal examination, which he said they \u201cjust don\u2019t have to have anymore\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt\u2019s not grown up. It\u2019s not very brave not to have that test. If you don\u2019t catch it early, it can be a really nasty cancer, it\u2019s a bit daft not to get the check.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, who revealed last year his prostate cancer had spread to his bones, and that doctors gave him between two and four years to live, shared Sir Tony\u2019s disappointment.<\/p>\n

\"Sir<\/p>\n

Sir Chris Hoy (PA)<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old said: \u201cMore than 12,000 men are dying of prostate cancer every year; it is now the UK\u2019s most common cancer in men, with black men at double the risk along with men with a family history, like myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst introducing regular checks for men carrying the BRCA genes is a very small step forward it is not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know first-hand that by sharing my story following my own diagnosis two years ago, many, many lives have been saved. Early screening and diagnosis saves lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am determined to continue to use my platform to raise awareness, encourage open discussion, raise vital funds for further research and support, and to campaign for change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wimbledon<\/p>\n

Sir Geoff Hurst has called for all men aged 45 and above to be tested (John Walton\/PA)<\/p>\n

Following the draft recommendation, England World Cup winning footballer Sir Geoff Hurst said it should be mandatory for all men aged over 45 to be tested for prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

He told PA: \u201cI have known many people to suffer with prostate cancer, and given correct testing and early enough testing, they could\u2019ve been furnished with a much better outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the results that they have have gone some way towards helping, but I think it would\u2019ve been better if all men over 45 could be tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former footballer Les Ferdinand and actor Colin McFarlane also shared their disappointment at the decision. McFarlane said people \u201cdeserve so much better than this\u201d, with black men being at higher risk of prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

\"Colin<\/p>\n

Colin McFarlane said GPs needed to be able to contact black men about a blood test \u2018proactively\u2019 (Jeff Moore\/PA)<\/p>\n

McFarlane, who was diagnosed with the disease along with his brother, went on to say black men \u201curgently need the Government to\u00a0take action\u00a0and overhaul outdated NHS guidelines\u201d to allow GPs to \u201cproactively\u201d contact them about a blood test from the age of 45.<\/p>\n

It comes after former Conservative prime minister Lord David Cameron revealed earlier this week that he had been treated for prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

Lord Cameron said in a post on X responding to Friday\u2019s announcement: \u201cI urge @wesstreeting and the government to be brave and bold on this crucial issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake the first step more significant than what\u2019s being recommended. Put in place a proper, targeted screening programme that involves all those at higher-risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout it, more men will die, more families will lose a loved one. This is avoidable and can be done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actor and TV presenter Sir Tony Robinson has said he \u201cthought those most at risk\u201d would have been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[139440,49,48,7714,139441,139439,84,19967,54687,99237,48758,139438,139437],"class_list":["post-312666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-black-men","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cancer","tag-disappointment","tag-draft-recommendation","tag-health","tag-pa","tag-prostate-cancer","tag-recommendation","tag-sir-chris-hoy","tag-sir-tony","tag-tony-robinson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}