Former U.K. prime minister David Cameron has disclosed that he was recently treated for early-stage prostate cancer, using the announcement to support the creation of a targeted national screening program for the country’s most common male cancer.
Cameron, 58, said that he sought testing after his wife encouraged him to act following a radio interview in which Soho House founder Nick Jones discussed his own cancer diagnosis. Cameron underwent a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, followed by an MRI scan and a biopsy confirming cancer.
He described hearing the diagnosis as a moment he had long feared but said the early detection gave him a critical opportunity for timely treatment. Cameron received focal therapy, a procedure that uses electrical pulses to destroy localized cancer cells.
Prostate cancer accounts for roughly 55,000 new cases annually in the U.K. Despite its prevalence, the country has no national screening program, largely due to concerns about false positives and potential overtreatment associated with PSA testing. Cameron acknowledged these challenges but said evolving evidence warrants renewed consideration.
“There are respectable arguments against a screening program,” he said, noting the need to balance accurate detection with the risks of unnecessary treatment. “But circumstances are changing, and it’s a good moment to look again.”
Prostate Cancer UK welcomed Cameron’s public disclosure. Chiara De Biase, the organization’s director of health services, equity, and improvement, said early detection remains crucial, especially for higher-risk groups, including Black men and men from lower-income communities.
“We lose 12,000 men every year to a disease that is curable when found early,” De Biase said. “Prostate cancer is the last major cancer without a screening program, and we need change now.”
Cameron said he hopes sharing his experience will encourage men to talk more openly about their health and seek testing when appropriate.
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