By Victoria Allen Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
Published: 00:23 BST, 23 April 2019 | Updated: 00:28 BST, 23 April 2019
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A record 2.1million Britons were checked for cancer last year, raising hopes that fewer people are letting embarrassment stop them having vital tests.
Many men have been too ashamed to talk about the sexual problems which are the first sign of prostate cancer.
Women, meanwhile, can be too self-conscious to have smear tests which can pinpoint cervical cancer.
High-profile prostate cancer sufferers Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull are thought to have raised vital public awareness to stop people ‘dying of embarrassment’
However, high-profile prostate cancer sufferers Stephen Fry and Bill Turnbull are thought to have raised vital public awareness to stop people ‘dying of embarrassment’.
A Daily Mail campaign on the issue also made many more men aware of the symptoms.
Latest figures from NHS England show that 2.1million people were checked for cancer in 2018 following urgent GP referrals. This was equivalent to almost 6,000 a day and a rise of nearly 250,000 on the 1.9million seen in 2017.
The largest increase – up 18.8 per cent last year compared to 2017 –
