The Daily Telegraph has recently run features in the week of 23rd April 2007 on the NHS (link).
One of the key parts of the campaign was to continue to highlight the NHS con trick where politicians state that the NHS is free for all and then deny people treatment simply because of where they live. This is made worse by the cuts many hospitals face in the infamous postcode lottery (link). It is one of the biggest con tricks perpetrated on the taxpayer and prostate cancer sufferers have been one of the worst groups affected as shown at (link) , (link) and (link).
The Telegraph highlighted the gap in treatment available in key areas and one of the areas they studied was on Prostate cancer. Their findings show that Cystoscopy (a test involving the use of a scope to examine the interior of a bladder), a crucial early warning system, is practically non-existent in Northern Ireland and also is lacking in areas such as the West and East Midlands.
Men and women should be able to get the same treatment wherever they live. Rightfully, there have been many campaigns for nationwide access for Herceptin, the breast cancer drug, and the same is needed for prostate cancer treatment especially as many men find they have a battle to get their hands on Taxotere, which costs less than half of Herceptin. This problems faced are clearly seen in the case of John Verrier Jones (link) (link), which highlighted the problems men face.
Prostate cancer sufferers are already seen as the forgotten cancer victims, this has to change and is why we need a Minister for Men (link) .
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