Cancer awareness ‘is relatively low among men’

A medical research charity has expressed concern that not enough is being done to raise awareness of cancer among men compared to women.

Dr Elizabeth Rapley, scientific spokeswoman at the Institute of Cancer Research, stated that men are less likely to visit GPs over health concerns, but suggested that the reasons behind this are "far more complex" than simply fearing a negative prognosis.

She pointed out that women are more likely to visit their GPs regularly throughout their lives for contraception advice and screenings, meaning they are more likely to develop a relationship with their medical practitioner.

Dr Rapley also raised concern over the relative lack of exposure male illnesses such as testicular and prostate cancer receive compared to cervical and breast cancer, which are regularly featured in women's magazines.

"It is something that we have been trying to address with the Everyman campaign. There is an imbalance about what gets put into the media," she said.

According to Cancer Research UK data, around 36,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually, making it the most common cancer suffered by males.