Research
Research interests
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United Kingdom (Mackie, 2010).
Cancer Research UK reports that over 34,000 new cases are diagnosed and approximately 10,000 men die from prostate cancer each year.
In recent years there has been a growing body of evidence that black African and Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than others, and twice as likely to die from the disease (Ben-Shlomo et al 2007). In the United Kingdom people from ethnic minority groups are believed to wait longer to see a doctor, and this means there may be less treatment options available for them when they are diagnosed. We have anecdotal evidence that men of African and Caribbean origin are not being seen in cancer centres in South Wales, despite their increased risk for prostate cancer and an African and Caribbean community of over 13,000 (UK Census, 2011).
This research will use semi-structured interviews and community engagement techniques to collected field notes with men from the African and Caribbean and white British community in Cardiff. The aim of the research is to establish if there are any differences between the two cultural groups in what they think about cancer and their risk, and also to understand if African and Caribbean men are less likely to see a doctor with early symptoms of prostate cancer. This research will gather information to help us understand what we could do better to improve awareness amongst those who are most at risk.
References
Ben- Shlomo, Y., Evans, S., Ibrahim, F., Patel, B., Anson, K., Chinegwundoh, F., Corbishley, C., Dorlind, D., Thomas, B., Gillatt, D., Kirby, R., Muir, G., Nargund, V., Popert, R., Metcalfe, C., Persad, R. (2007). The PROCESS cohort study. European Urology, 53(1), 99-105.
Cancer Research UK (2012)
http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/type/prostate-cancer/about/prostate-cancer-risks-and-causes; accessed 14.06.2012, 12:25.
Mackie, A (2010). Screening for Prostate Cancer; Review against programme appraisal criteria for the UK national Screening committee, Version 1. UK National Screening committee, April 2010.
UK Census (2011), Table EE4, Population Estimates by Ethnic Group Rel.8.0, Office for National Statistics, 2011.
