Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09) announced that he has prostate cancer. He stated this at a press conference to prevent men’s health, mainly in connection with testicular and prostate cancer. The doctors detected the tumor at an early stage. He is awaiting surgery. At the same time, he appealed to men to have their blood tested for the risk of prostate cancer.
Updated
Prague
9:12 8. 11. 2024 (Updated: 9:29 8/11/2024)
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Copy the url address
Abbreviated address Copy to clipboard
Vlastimil Válek | Photo: René Volfík | Source: iROZHLAS.cz
Doctors discovered the disease in the 64-year-old minister during a preventive screening of the PSA gene, which helps detect prostate cancer.
“I’m in the age group where it’s recommended to have a PSA gene screening, which I did a few months ago. I had a positive result, which was subsequently confirmed by further examinations,” informed Válek.
2:21
‘My wife sent me to the doctor.’ Hrníčko overcame cancer and draws attention to the importance of prevention
Read the article
“In the next few days, I will undergo surgery to remove the tumor. Since I was caught in the screening, the stage is quite early,” he added.
According to him, his absence will not affect the operation of the resort. “My situation will not mean any change for the operation of the ministry, I will be represented by deputy Jakub Dvořáček,” said Válek.
At the same time, the minister appealed to men not to underestimate prevention. “My example will hopefully encourage other men between the ages of 50 and 69 not to underestimate this tumor and get it checked,” he urged.
A third will be late
Almost 10,000 patients are newly diagnosed by doctors every year. Around 75,000 men between the ages of 50 and 69 have been screened so far in the screening, which began this year, and nearly one in ten had a finding that indicates an increased risk and requires further follow-up.
“A third of tumors are caught late, in an advanced stage, when the chance of cure is low,” said Ladislav Dušek, director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics. Therefore, approximately 1,500 men succumb to this type of cancer annually. According to him, if the tumor is caught early, it is almost 100% curable.
Prostate cancer does not show any warning signs for a long time. “I didn’t have any problems, I just wanted to test how the screening works,” said the minister.
Prostate cancer is more likely in men who have already had another cancer. According to Dušek, up to a fifth of prostate tumors are detected in them. It is most common in men between the ages of 65 and 70, but 12 percent of patients are younger than 60. Around 80,000 men live in the Czech Republic with a history of this type of tumor, over 33,000 of them have received the diagnosis in the last five years.
dear friends,
as you probably know, November is about raising awareness about male diseases, especially testicular cancer and prostate cancer. The prostate cancer screening we launched this January has already saved many lives.I recently underwent this screening myself and had… pic.twitter.com/YdtvJIuiq4
— Vlastimil Válek (@vlvalek) November 8, 2024
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Copy the url address
Abbreviated address Copy to clipboard
