David Cameron Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron has disclosed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year and has already undergone treatment, according to The Times Newspaper.

In an interview originally published by The Times, Cameron urged the British government to introduce a national targeted screening program to detect the disease earlier.

Cameron, 59, said he first sought medical advice after his wife encouraged him to get checked. The push came after the couple listened to a BBC Radio interview in which businessman Nick Jones urged men to take prostate cancer screening seriously following his own diagnosis.

Cameron began with a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, which revealed elevated levels. He then underwent an MRI scan and a biopsy that confirmed prostate cancer.

Reflecting on receiving the diagnosis, Cameron told The Times: “You always hope for the best. You have a high PSA score — that’s probably nothing. You have an MRI scan with a few black marks on it. You think, ‘Ah, that’s probably OK.’ But when the biopsy comes back, and it says you have got prostate cancer? You always dread hearing those words. And then literally as they’re coming out of the doctor’s mouth you’re thinking, ‘Oh no, he’s going to say it… Oh God, he said it.’”

He underwent focal therapy, a targeted treatment that destroys cancer cells in the affected area using techniques like high-intensity ultrasound.

Cameron said he felt compelled to speak publicly to encourage wider screening.

“I want to, as it were, come out. I want to add my name to the long list of people calling for a targeted screening program,” he said. “I don’t particularly like discussing my personal intimate health issues, but I feel I ought to. Let’s be honest: men are not very good at talking about their health. We tend to put things off.”

He emphasized that he understands the complexity of launching a national screening effort, noting: “I know it’s not a slam dunk. There are respectable arguments against a screening program… But it seems to me that quite a lot of things have changed over the last few years.”

He added that the “circumstances are changing” and that it is “a really good moment to have another look at this.”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the UK, with roughly 55,000 new cases every year. The country has not implemented a national screening program due to concerns about the accuracy of PSA testing and the risk of unnecessary treatment.

Cameron’s comments come just days after the start of a major UK trial aimed at evaluating new, more accurate screening technologies that could eventually support a national early-detection strategy.