Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with 1 in 8 will be affected during their lifetime. However, black men are more disproportionally affected than men with any other races - they have doubled the risk of getting the disease, i.e. 1 in 4 will be affected. They also get the disease at a younger age and more will die from the disease. However, they are often under-represented in research and clinical trials of prostate cancer.

In March 2022, GP researchers Dr Qizhi Huang and Dr Caroline Mitchell, together with Professor Janet Brown, an oncology consultant, were awarded a grant from the University of Sheffield to explore and support inclusive research for black men with prostate cancer. They contacted a black men community in Sheffield, SACMHA (Sheffield Africa Caribbean Mental Health Association). With the support from the SACMHA service director David Bussue, two community health workers took the role of community researchers for the project. Using a co-participatory approach by working together from the right beginning of the project, they co-designed, organised, and co-facilitated workshops as well took part in data analysis and dissemination. The results were fantastic that within 3 months, 3 workshops were carried out with over 50 participants (patients, family members and public). They discussed a wide range of the topics around a black men’s journey of prostate cancer. It was felt that raising awareness of their high risk was crucial.

Following the workshops, both community researchers gave a poster presentation at the Black in Cancer conference in Oct 2022. One of the community researchers, Sheila, together with some other participants from the workshops and Johanna, our research nurse, took steps even further. To raise the awareness of prostate cancer and their high risk in black men, we are setting up a prostate cancer support group, named 1in4 SPSG (Sheffield Prostate cancer Support Group) to send a strong message that 1 in 4 black men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. This is also the first support group for black men with prostate cancer in South Yorkshire. It will provide a platform for men to share their experiences and support with each other. The launch event is 28th April 2023. Watch this space …