Prostate Cancer

Lord Berkeley of Knighton Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)]

My Lords, my story is slightly different from that of the noble Lord, Lord Bailey. A few months ago, I had an elevated PSA. Within 36 hours, the surgery to which I go, run by the excellent Dr Sheldon, had put me on a cancer pathway and offered me an MRI. I was absolutely amazed by this efficiency. The news, I am glad to say, was good, but it was the third time that I had had an MRI. My prostate is obviously a rather energetic creature and my PSA levels seem to be quite high. We have now had to adjust what should take me for another MRI.

However, as the noble Lord, Lord Patel, and the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy, said, there are concerns here. Perhaps I might make a constructive suggestion for the Minister to take back to her department. I do not know whether the two GPs would agree with this, but I have found that men are often not told to desist from energetic exercise prior to this test—sport, tennis, running, and indeed and especially sexual activity. They also give a false reading and this needs to be accented a bit more. People coming away from a PSA test should be told that these things could raise the prostate-specific antigen.

I will finish by saying how amazed I was to be given this MRI, although it was the third one that I have had. I more or less had to say, “Do you really want to do this? Do you want to spend NHS money on somebody who has been told twice that, thank God, there is no real problem?” Having said that, I am profoundly grateful.