Sixty men have booked a potentially life-saving test that will be taken during a community event in Burton upon Trent.

The PSA testing is being held at the Burton Caribbean Association Community Centre on Friday June 19. It’s being organised by NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB in partnership with West Midlands Cancer Alliance and the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust.

Black men are statistically twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as men in the general population. That risk increases considerably if men have a family history.

Black men aged 45+ are eligible for the testing.

Jodie Furby, Cancer Service Improvement Manager at the ICB said: “It’s really important that we raise awareness of prostate cancer for everyone, however we know that black men are statistically at greatest risk.

“The test is a simple blood test that measures the level of a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Elevated PSA levels can indicate prostate cancer in men, even if they have no symptoms, and should lead to further investigations.

“The fact that 60 men have pre-booked their tests is really encouraging.”

Men will receive their test results along with advice about the next steps to take, which for men with elevated PSA levels will be to share with their GP.

You can find out more about prostate cancer and PSA testing from the NHS.