Dermot Murnaghan urges wider PSA testing after IV prostate cancer

Former broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan has urged tougher action on prostate cancer screening after revealing he was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer earlier this year, saying earlier detection could save money and lives. The 67 year old, who announced the diagnosis in June, spoke on Sky News about his experience and called on men over 50, those in high risk groups and anyone with symptoms to press their GP for a prostatespecific antigen test.

Murnaghan said the diagnosis arrived "a bolt from the blue" after he fell ill while on holiday and returned to the UK for treatment. He told presenter Anna Jones he completed chemotherapy in early July and is "feeling pretty good" as he awaits results and further monitoring. He also warned that the illness can sometimes progress rapidly without obvious symptoms and urged men to be proactive about testing.

Currently the UK does not run a national prostate screening programme because the PSA blood test can pick up cancers that might never cause harm and is not considered reliable enough to distinguish which tumours need treatment. Cancer Research UK and Prostate Cancer UK cite the risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment as reasons for...