Health minister wonders why men don't go to the doctors

The government is asking research bodies about the drivers that affect health behaviour, health services minister Paul Burstow has said.

At a meeting organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Men’s Health, the group on cancer and several others yesterday, Baroness Masham of Ilton, vice chair of the group on men’s health, asked the minister when the government will fund research to understand why cancer affects so many more men, so that we can tackle it.

Mr Burstow, right, the Liberal Democrat MP for MP for Sutton and Cheam, replied: ‘It is very important we understand better the drivers that affect health behaviour including why people don’t go to the doctor early enough’. He added that government are speaking to research bodies about the issue.

MHF parliamentary officer Colin Penning said: 'We are no nearer understanding why so many more men are diagnosed with, and die from, the most common cancers that affect both men and women than when the Forum first highlighted the issue. That we need to understand more is now widely accepted and we were delighted when the government minister for health services agreed.'

The issue has been highlighted in reports from the Forum, the National Cancer Intelligence Network and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer as well as in the last government’s Cancer Reform Strategy.