UPDATE - Issue 40 - Spring 2010
Applause for a Peer
We welcomed the decision by Andrew Lloyd Webber to openly announce his diagnosis with early stage prostate cancer last year. Hopefully, the composer's high public profile will help raise awareness of the disease and encourage men to be more proactive in monitoring their prostate health. The increased public awareness will also help break down some of the taboos that can prevent men from approaching their GPs about urological issues. He has since been treated successfully.
Prostate cancer affects 35,000 men in the UK every year but awareness of the disease is still relatively low. Open disclosures from celebrities such as Lord Lloyd-Webber can help to boost public awareness of diseases as was seen when Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and Jade Goodie with cervical cancer in 2008.
Amanda McLean said, 'We applaud Lord Lloyd-Webber's decision to publicly announce his diagnosis. In the USA, where awareness of prostate cancer is much higher, Arnold Palmer, General Schwarzkopf, Robert De Niro and Frank Zappa have all been frank and open about their diagnoses. I hope this will encourage other British public figures to use their fame to help stop prostate disease ruining lives by reaching out to men in similar situations to them.'