Ramsay Newsroom

Waverley Private Hospital Urologist Mr Jonathan Lewin said the latest figures show routine screens for prostate cancer fell by 25.7%* in Victoria in the six months to October 2020, which could lead to more cancers being detected late, or not at all. 

Mr Lewin said while referrals to all cancer specialists plummeted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, it was important for men be proactive and get screened for prostate cancer, which is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian men.  

“It’s difficult for men to advocate for their own health, women are really good at it! But give a man an opportunity to put his head in the sand and think about work or mowing the yard, or anything else really, that’s what they’re going to do,” Mr Lewin said. 

“Men need to get their head out of the sand. If we were talking about their prized Holden in the garage, they’d give it a regular service, so they need to do the same with their own health. Visit your GP and get checked out, make sure you’re working properly. And if you do need a referral for a prostate cancer specialist, the sooner you get one the better. 

“During COVID, we were treating fewer men but that’s not because they weren’t getting prostate cancer, it’s because they weren’t going to get screened and were then not being referred to a specialist if they needed one,” Mr Lewin said. 

Mr Lewin said the trend was particularly worrying for prostate cancer, because delayed or late diagnosis will make it more difficult to treat. 

Waverley Private Hospital has just commissioned new robotic technology for pelvic and urological cancers - the da Vinci X robot. 

“It’s vastly different to what came before it, which was laparoscopic technology.  The da Vinci X allows us to offer the latest, state of the art technology to our patients at Waverley Private Hospital,” Mr Lewin said. 

“It can mean better outcomes for patients, quicker recovery and a shorter stay in hospital”. 

Doctor Lewin recommends men have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test every year from the age of 50-69. 

Men’s Health Week runs from 14th - 20th June 2021.