MORE than two in five men in the West Midlands are not aware of how at risk they may be of prostate cancer.

Research released by Prostate Cancer UK shows thousands of men in the region could be missing out on being diagnosed with the disease at an early stage when treatment is most successful.

Prostate cancer kills nearly 1,000 men in the West Midlands every year and more than 3,700 in the region are living with the disease at any one time.

Men at particular risk include those with a family history of the disease, the over-50’s and black men, one in four of whom will develop prostate cancer.

The majority of early cases are symptomless and there is no national screening programme for the disease, meaning the best defence is to speak to a GP about it.

Chief executive of Prostate Cancer UK Owen Sharp said it was important men at particular risk of the disease were made aware of the dangers.

“They need to know this so that they can instigate potentially life-saving conversations with their GPs about the next steps,” he said.

“This isn’t happening and as a result men are walking around like ticking time bombs, completely oblivious to the danger they face.”

For more information on Prostate Cancer UK call 0800 074 8383 or visit prostatecanceruk.org.