Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to actively offer screenings, after his own stage-four diagnosis.
Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Murnaghan said he didn’t have any of the usual prostate cancer symptoms – such as frequent or urgent urination or the occurrence of blood – but “fell very ill on a foreign holiday”.
Upon being treated by the NHS, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.
Pointing to how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are getting more accurate, Murnaghan said they should be offered in the same way as screenings for other cancers are.
“They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save,” he said.
“Treating people who get to my stage, there’s an awful lot of things that are being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.
“As in so many other cancers, if you are diagnosed much, much earlier, then of course you save money much further down the line.”
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He said he finished chemotherapy in early July and is currently waiting to see what the effect has been.
It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.
According to analysis carried out by the charities, more than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040.
This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.
Murnaghan said there is “no formal screening programme” for prostate cancer and men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers”.
Speaking of how he put off screening, Murnaghan said: “In my own case, I fell through those gaps.
“I foolishly sat in your [presenter Anna Jones] position for many many years speaking to people about this very issue and talking about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high risk groups who may have a history of it in their family, to go and ask for this screening…
“And I kept thinking you know ‘once I got over that age I will go and do that’,” he said.
“I kept thinking, ‘okay well you know I’ll get round to it’, life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays…all kinds of things and I never did…
“So what happened was at the end of last year I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue.”
Read more:
England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040
The former Sky News presenter is planning to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.
Sir Chris was himself diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.
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Murnaghan is a familiar face to Sky News viewers as one of its main presenters from 2007 until 2023.
In September 2022, he announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the channel.
Before joining Sky, he presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.
Murnaghan also presented the quiz show Eggheads on BBC Two for 11 years.
