NHS Urged to Revamp Prostate Cancer Treatment for Black Men Amid Rising Death Toll

Published: 24 September 2025. The English Chronicle Desk

Campaigners and health experts are calling on the NHS to urgently overhaul how prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated in black men, warning that failure to act could result in “an epidemic of unnecessary deaths.” Research indicates that black men in the UK are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as their white counterparts, with one in four black men developing the disease compared with one in eight white men. Moreover, one in twelve black men is at risk of dying from prostate cancer, a statistic starkly higher than the one in twenty-four risk for white men, according to data analyzed by Prostate Cancer UK.

Community activist Stafford Scott, director of Tottenham Rights and a guest professor of forensic architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, described the situation as a public health crisis. “We are living through an epidemic of unnecessary deaths of black men,” Scott said. “Prostate cancer is not colour blind. Not only is the death rate twice as high in black men as white men but we are being diagnosed late and so are entering the system too late.”

In an effort to address these disparities, Scott has partnered with TV presenter Michael Morgan and Dr Sara Paparini, senior lecturer in public health and equity at Queen Mary University of London, to launch a podcast series titled A Dialogue of Equals. The series aims to bridge the gap between black communities and health professionals by highlighting personal experiences, raising awareness, and advocating for systemic change within the NHS.

Prostate Cancer UK has urged reforms to outdated NHS guidelines, recommending that GPs proactively engage black men in conversations about prostate cancer risk and offer prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests at earlier stages. These recommendations stem from longstanding concerns that black men are diagnosed at later stages of the disease, reducing treatment efficacy and survival rates.

The annual incidence of prostate cancer in the UK stands at approximately 55,300 new cases, a figure expected to rise by 15% over the next 15 years. Scott emphasised that a broader strategy is necessary to reduce mortality rates among black men, extending beyond screening to wider NHS reforms. “Prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment could also be improved by recruiting and promoting more black staff, including into leadership positions, partnering with black-led organisations to rebuild trust, improving transparency of health data, and increasing independent oversight of the NHS treatment black men receive,” he said.

Scott’s concern is deeply personal. “For too long, black men have been failed by the very system that is meant to keep us well. The result is a cycle of mistrust, late intervention, and preventable deaths. Every week I’m attending the funeral of a black man who has died of cancer,” he said.

A Dialogue of Equals seeks to place equal value on knowledge from both communities and experts. The podcast features candid discussions about health disparities, institutional racism, and personal experiences with NHS services. Among the guests are Prabhakar Rajan, professor of urology and robotic surgery at Queen Mary University of London, and Professor Habib Naqvi, chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory. The series is designed to empower black men to hold the healthcare system accountable while fostering dialogue that can inform future policy decisions.

Michael Morgan, co-host of the series, highlighted the cultural barriers that prevent black men from seeking healthcare. “As men we are terrible at talking about things. In our podcast series we’re having candid conversations about health and institutional racism. We’re told that as black men we’re a hard-to-reach group. Funny they say that when the police find it very easy to reach us,” he remarked, emphasising the importance of community-driven initiatives to address health inequities.

The UK government has acknowledged the disparity. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated, “We know Black men are at higher risk of prostate cancer and that’s why we are backing Prostate Cancer UK’s trial with £16 million to find better ways to detect the disease, ensuring that 1 in 10 of those invited to participate are Black men. Any changes to screening must be guided by expert advice—the UK National Screening Committee is considering the latest evidence and we will act on their findings. In the meantime, we’re getting on with improving cancer treatment and prevention by deploying cutting-edge technology and opening community diagnostic centres across the country.”

Scott and his collaborators are calling for urgent action to prevent a growing public health crisis. By combining community insight with academic research and policy advocacy, they aim to transform the NHS approach to prostate cancer for black men, addressing systemic failings and improving early detection, treatment, and survival rates. “We are challenging the NHS to look at us holistically and not in silos. We are trying to build capacity among black men to hold the NHS to account,” Scott said.

As awareness grows and initiatives like A Dialogue of Equals reach wider audiences, campaigners hope that these efforts will translate into measurable improvements in the lives of black men across the UK. The call to action is clear: unless urgent reforms are implemented, the disproportionate impact of prostate cancer on black men will continue, with preventable deaths mounting each year.