Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support the (1) current, and (2) future, provision of prostate cancer (a) treatment, and (b) related well-being services.

A wide range of treatments are available for prostate cancer across the National Health Service, depending on both the stage of disease and each individual patient’s preferences, which includes surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In February 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement’s specialised commissioning team announced that it would make available external beam radiotherapy to treat hormone sensitive, low volume prostate cancer.

The NHS also made available a range of ‘COVID-19 friendly’ treatments, offering benefits such as fewer hospital visits or a reduced impact on the patient’s immune system. This includes targeted hormone therapies such as enzalutamide for prostate cancer treatment. After treatment, patients will move to a Personalised Stratified Follow-Up pathway that suits their needs and ensures they can get rapid access to clinical support where they are worried that their cancer may have recurred. This stratified follow-up approach was established in all trusts for prostate cancer in 2020.

NHS England is supporting staff to offer personalised care to people affected by cancer, including people with prostate cancer, by promoting awareness and understanding of the personalised care interventions. The NHS Long Term Plan sets a clear ambition that where appropriate every person diagnosed with cancer, including those with prostate cancer, should have access to personalised care to ensure people’s social, emotional, physical and practical needs are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity. Over the next five years, Cancer Alliances will be embedding personalised care interventions, which will identify and address the changing needs of cancer patients from diagnosis onwards.