According to new research conducted by Cancer UK & the National Cancer Intelligence Network, men are twice as likely to develop kidney cancer than women, despite the fact that there doesn’t appear to be any biological reasons for this. It is evident that men’s reluctance to visit the doctors and specific lifestyle choices must play a pivotal role in these results. The figures also show that men are 16% more likely to develop cancer than women and 40% more likely to die as a result of cancer. If cancers specific to gender (such as breast cancer and prostate) are taken out of the equation to consider only cancers that affect both men and women (such as lung) the results are staggering with 62% of men more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 69% more likely to die from it.
According to Doctor Tom Powles, Trustee and Medical Advisor to the James Whale Fund "The fact that men are twice as likely to die from kidney cancer as women is concerning but no surprise. Early detection of kidney cancer directly correlates with the outcome. Men are more reluctant to seek medical attention, therefore are more likely to present with more advanced diseases, explaining these findings. Awareness of the symptoms of kidney cancer is one of the main aims of the James Whale Fund."
About the Fund: The James Whale Fund is the UK’s leading kidney cancer charity and was set up in 2006 by broadcaster James Whale who lost a kidney to cancer. Today James continues to lead a full and busy life, as do the majority of people who are diagnosed and treated early. Every year almost 7,000 people in the UK learn that they have kidney cancer; that’s over 16 people a day. And yet the condition - the eight most common cancer among men - rarely attracts much public attention. Our mission at the James Whale Fund is to try and change that.
For more information about The James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer please visit www.jameswhalefund.org
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