MEN with prostate cancer were "suffering in silence" during the pandemic according to a Dorset urologist, who has urged all over 50s to get checked.

Amit Mevcha is a consultant urologist at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD), primarily stationed at Bournemouth Hospital. As part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, he is hosting a free virtual health talk today to help men in Dorset be better informed about the illness.

He said: "The number of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer has increased over the past 10 years. With more than 50,000 diagnoses every year in the UK, it is the most common cancer in men.

"It's so key to make men aware what they're looking for so it can be dealt with and not cause problems for the rest of their lives.

"Certain people are at higher risk of getting this cancer, the likelihood increases for those over 50, as it does for Afro-Caribbean men and those with a family history of it a blood relative increases your risk significantly. Again, the older you get the more likely it is, a third of those who get it are aged 75 and over."

He said he and his colleagues' workload is "much higher" than pre-pandemic levels due to a decrease in prostate checks and procedures during national lockdowns.

Prostate cancer surgery options, such as a prostatectomy, are performed at Bournemouth Hospital, while radio or chemotherapy is performed in Poole Hospital.

The health talk event will run via Microsoft Teams on Monday, March 21 at 5pm. Visit uhd.nhs.uk/news/events for more information.

Visit nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/ for more about prostate cancer.