Seven out of ten men who are at an increased risk of prostate cancer are not aware of a simple blood test which can give an early indication of the disease which kills one man every hour in the UK, new research has revealed.

The inequities surrounding men’s knowledge and access to the PSA blood test were also highlighted through the research, which was commissioned by The Prostate Cancer Charity* to time with the launch of its annual awareness month, in March. Worryingly, men over 50 - the age at which the likelihood of developing the disease increases - from less affluent backgrounds are much more likely to be in the dark about the test. The probability of these men requesting a PSA test is three times lower than those from higher socio-economic groups.

Members of the UCAN Team headed off on a tour of the North East during August to spread the word about UCAN.

The trip was highlighted by taking the UCAN bus along too. If you haven’t seen the bus, it features a 14 feet naked man with his hands strategically placed to protect his modesty!

Kate the fundraiser spoke to local companies and Rotary groups about the signs and symptoms of the four main urological cancers whilst either Linda or Lesley manned the bus to give advice and information to members of the public.

The bus has been in service around Aberdeen for the past 18 months visited 12 locations from Inverurie to Lossiemouth and attracted lots of attention. Sam McClinton co founder of UCAN said “It’s hugely important for us to reach as wide an audience as possible because urological cancers can strike anyone at anytime and the more people who are aware of the symptoms as early as possible, the better chance we have of increasing the number of patients who make a full recovery.”

One of the unique services that UCAN offers is presentations to your work force on urological health and the services of the UCAN Care Centre.  These are carried out by Kate Synott our Fundraising Manager who has developed a particular style to get the point across.  She uses comedy to both relax the male dominated audience and to get their attention.  If you feel your workforce could benefit from our presentation please contact us on 01224 559312 / 553104 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it