Gary Lineker health: Presenter, 61, opens up about ‘dangerous’ cancer ‘scare’
Gary Lineker talks about choosing the right pair of glasses
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As well as holding the crown as the BBCs highest paid employee between 2016 to 2020, Lineker is also the face of Walkers crisps adverts, which have proved popular among the public. Off-screen however, it was after a prostate cancer scare when the star was approaching the age of 60 that Lineker started to promote the importance of men going for regular check-ups. In an interview with The Sun, the sportsman credited his three-times a week personal training sessions and “fast metabolism” for keeping him fit and healthy.
“I have a full body check every couple of years and I did have one prostate scare,” Gary revealed.
“It’s important to get ahead of it and a lot of men, we sometimes think, ‘I’m all right’. We don’t want to see doctors.
“But that’s a dangerous game. We are all a little bit scared of having something and I think it’s fair to share that.
“It turned out to be nothing with me but it’s important to get ahead of it. It makes it a lot worse if you catch it late.
“It’s vital for people my age to make sure they are OK, to constantly get checks if possible.”
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men – with Prostate Cancer UK stating 40,000 men are diagnosed each year in England alone, while 9,000 are killed by the disease.
Typically the condition develops slowly, so for years there may not be any signs, but when signs do emerge, individuals may suffer from the following:
- An increased need to pee
- Straining while you pee
- A feeling that your bladder has not fully emptied.
It is important that symptoms such as these are not ignored, although they might not be a sign of prostate cancer, it is best to check the underlying cause with a medical professional.
Academic research and information from health insurance both suggest that men are less likely to pursue medical advice, both in the form of general check ups and seeking a diagnosis after falling ill.
Dr Will Courtenay, a psychotherapist, told webMD that many men hold the belief that seeking help, even in a medical environment, is a sign of personal weakness or admission of defeat.
He said: “Guys often worry that they will be seen as less than a man if they are concerned about their health.”
But with more than 10,000 deaths from prostate cancer every year in the UK, the stigma against men’s health needs to end.
When going to see your GP, Cancer Research UK explains that individuals will be asked numerous questions about the sort of symptoms they are experiencing and whether anything makes them better or worse.
A doctor may then carry out numerous tests to check blood pressure, heart rate and temperature. Specific tests to check for prostate cancer include a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which monitors the level of the protein in the blood.
It’s normal for all men to have some PSA in their blood but a high level of PSA can be a sign of cancer. However, a PSA test on its own is not reliable enough to give a cancer diagnosis, so individuals will be offered an MRI scan or prostate examination.
Cancer Research UK explains that in order to examine the prostate, your doctor puts a gloved finger into your back passage (rectum) to check for abnormal signs, such as a lumpy, hard prostate. Doctors call this test a digital rectal examination (DRE).
Once diagnosed with prostate cancer, depending on the severity of the condition, treatment will either be advised or not.
For those who have caught prostate cancer early and are not experiencing any symptoms, a doctor may suggest either “watchful waiting” or “active surveillance” to monitor the development of the condition.
For others, treatments such as surgically removing the prostate and radiotherapy can be used to try and cure the condition completely. However, Some cases are only diagnosed at a later stage, when the cancer has spread. If the cancer spreads to other parts of the body and cannot be cured, treatment is focused on prolonging life and relieving symptoms.
The NHS explains that newer treatments, such as high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and cryotherapy, aim to reduce side effects that individuals may experience after radiotherapy or hormone-therapy, but the long-term effectiveness of these treatments is not known yet.
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