Former BBC breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull has died aged 66 after a five-year battle with prostate cancer.
The father-of-three was diagnosed with the condition in November 2017 and admitted he was “pissed at himself” for delaying seeing a GP for years.
Turnbull had attributed his prolonged pain to “old age,” when in fact the pain was a sign of something far more sinister.
The cancer silently spread through his blood to his bones, where it became both inoperable and incurable.
The journalist said he regretted being proud of not having seen a GP in four years. When detected early, prostate cancer has a survival rate of almost 100 percent.
Turnbull said inspiring men to get tested for the disease by publicly revealing his own diagnosis was the “only useful thing” he’s done in his life.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men, affecting more than 50,000 Britons, or one in eight, each year.
About 12,000 men die from the disease each year, that’s 33 a day, making it the second leading cause of death after lung cancer.
Former BBC Breakfast and Classic FM presenter Bill Turnbull has died aged 66, his family announced this morning
Bill Turnbull and Susanna Reid co-present ITV’s Good Morning Britain on February 26, 2020
What is prostate cancer?
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits under the bladder in men and surrounds the urethra.
Its main function is to produce a thick white fluid that creates semen when mixed with sperm produced by the testicles.
Prostate cancer occurs when normal prostate cells start growing out of control.
Once the cancer has formed, it feeds on sex hormones known as androgens and uses them as fuel for growth.
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits under the bladder in men and surrounds the urethra. Its main function is to produce a thick white fluid that creates semen when mixed with sperm produced by the testicles
For this reason, one of the mainstays of treating men is to lower a man’s androgen levels with medications called “hormone therapy.”
According to Prostate Cancer UK, around one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives, making it the most common male cancer in the UK.
Between 2016 and 2018, there were an average of 52,250 cases per year.
There are around 11,500 deaths in the UK each year, accounting for 14 per cent of all male cancer deaths.
Only lung cancer (34 per cent of all cancer deaths) kills more British men each year.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Symptoms usually don’t appear until the cancer is large enough to press against the urethra.
If you need to urinate more often, wait longer to urinate, or urinate involuntarily after using the toilet, it is a good idea to see a doctor.
Other warning signs include erectile dysfunction, weight loss due to blood in the urine, or new and unexplained back pain.
These are usually signs that the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of the body.
These symptoms don’t always mean you have prostate cancer. Many men’s prostates get larger as they age due to a noncancerous condition called benign prostate enlargement.
How deadly is prostate cancer?
As with all types of cancer, the earlier the disease is detected and treated, the better the chances of survival.
In stages one and two, the cancer is entirely contained in the prostate.
When caught at these stages, nearly 100 percent of people survive five years or more after being diagnosed.
Stage three means the cancer has broken through the lining of the prostate gland and may have spread into tubes that contain semen.
About 95 out of 100 men survive their cancer for five years or more if it is detected at this stage. But the survival rate drops to just 50 percent when the cancer spreads to other parts of the body — including organs, lymph nodes, or bones
About 95 out of 100 men survive their cancer for five years or more if it is detected at this stage.
But the survival rate drops to just 50 percent when the cancer spreads to other parts of the body — including organs, lymph nodes, or bones.
At this point, the cancer is incurable, meaning patients must rely on treatments that slow or shrink the tumor cells.
Who is most at risk of prostate cancer?
The NHS website says the risk of prostate cancer increases with age, with most cases occurring in men aged 50 or older.
If anyone in your family has prostate cancer or breast cancer, it may increase your own risk of developing prostate cancer.
According to Prostate Cancer UK, around one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives, making it the most common male cancer in the UK. Between 2016 and 2018, there were an average of 52,250 cases per year
This is because you may have inherited the same faulty genes.
Black men are more likely to be affected, with around one in four being diagnosed at some point in their lives — while it’s less common in Asians.
Recent research suggests that obesity increases risk. No one knows how to prevent prostate cancer, but living a healthy lifestyle can be important.
How is prostate cancer diagnosed?
After the symptoms have been discussed, a doctor will likely ask for a urine sample to check for infection and a blood sample to test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.
A digital rectal exam, in which a gloved finger is inserted into the buttocks, can be used to examine the prostate.
The GP will estimate the risk of prostate cancer based on these tests, as well as age, family history, and ethnicity.
If a patient is at risk, the NHS website says they should be referred to a hospital to discuss options for further testing, which could include an MRI scan or biopsy.
Men over the age of 50 can request a PSA test from their GP, but the NHS website says there is no national prostate cancer screening program in the UK as the test is not always accurate.
How is prostate cancer treated?
Some people do not require immediate treatment and are monitored.
This may be because the disease is at an early stage and does not cause symptoms, or because their age makes them unlikely to interfere with their natural lifespan.
This may include regular PSA testing, MRI scans, and sometimes biopsies to ensure signs of progression are caught as early as possible.
There are two main methods of treating prostate cancer: radiation therapy or surgery to remove the prostate.
Who else had prostate cancer?
Musician Jools Holland announced earlier this year that he was successfully treated for prostate cancer after being diagnosed in 2014.
He performed at a concert organized by Prostate Cancer UK alongside Sir Rod Stewart, who was given the all-clear in 2019, two years after being diagnosed.
“You guys really need to see a doctor,” Sir Rod urged before his performance.
Stephen Fry said he was “stunned” after discovering he had prostate cancer in 2018 but recovered because his disease was caught early.
In April, former Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal announced that numerous radiation treatments had cured his cancer.
“I had to wait five or six months to see if it did its job,” he said. ‘It did.’
