Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides called on men to seek medical advice on prostate cancer screening.

Speaking at the Europa Uomo event marking European prostate cancer awareness day on Tuesday, Charalambides said prostate cancer remained “accompanied by embarrassment, fear, or the belief that visiting the doctor and discussing appropriate screening can wait.”

He said gatherings such as Tuesday’s created space for open discussion of a disease that affected large numbers of men and their families.

Figures from the cancer registry show an average of 726 new prostate cancer cases recorded annually, making it the most common cancer among men in Cyprus.

Last year it ranked as the second most common cause of death among men in the country.

Charalambides said the figures did not mean every man required the same testing, stressing that “the decision to get tested needs to be made after discussion with your doctor,” based on age, family history and other risk factors.

He said an organised national screening programme would need to be based on documented data, insisting that any such programme must define who it targets and how continuity of care is ensured following a diagnosis.

Charalambides said the government was moving towards organised screening programmes based on prostate-specific antigen testing (PSA) supplemented by further diagnostic tests where necessary.

He said the health ministry’s approach to early detection extended beyond testing alone to include reliable information and equal access to services.

Charalambides credited Europa Uomo with helping men understand risk factors and encouraging open discussion of the disease, saying the organisation’s work also brought patients’ experiences into public debate on health policy.