By Ben Kerrigan-
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has made a deeply personal announcement: he has been successfully treated for prostate cancer. In a candid interview with The Times, the 59-year-old peer disclosed that the disease was found earlier this year, prompting him to speak out in support of tighter screening policies for men.
Cameron explained that his diagnosis began after a conversation with his wife, Samantha, who encouraged him to go for a check-up following a radio interview she heard with Soho House founder Nick Jones, who spoke about his own prostate cancer journey.
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At the GP, Cameron underwent a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, which revealed elevated levels. He followed this with an MRI scan and then a biopsy — the results of which confirmed the cancer.
Reflecting on the moment he received the diagnosis, he told The Times: “You always dread hearing those words … when the biopsy comes back, and it says you have got prostate cancer … And then literally as they’re coming out of the doctor’s mouth … you’re thinking, ‘Oh, no … he’s going to say it…’”
Rather than opting for conventional surgery or radiotherapy, Cameron chose focal therapy, a newer, minimally invasive procedure that delivers electric pulses through needles directly to the tumour. He has since undergone a follow-up MRI, and reports suggest the treatment was successful — he is now cancer-free.
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He said a scan found the main cancer to be in his prostate that had metastasised to his shoulder, pelvis, hip, ribs and spine and was stage 4.
Cameron resigned as prime minister and as an MP in his Oxfordshire seat of Witney in 2016. He was made foreign secretary by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak in 2023 and was also made a life peer and a member of the House of Lords.
Cameron admitted that making the decision to treat rather than ‘watch and wait’ came swiftly. He said his older brother’s death from pancreatic cancer at the same age focused his mind. He described relief after the procedure, calling the treatment a “big relief.”
Perhaps most significantly, Cameron is using his platform to campaign for a targeted prostate cancer screening programme in the UK. He said he felt compelled to speak out, even though he prefers to keep his personal health private: “I don’t particularly like discussing my personal intimate health issues, but I feel I ought to … men are not very good at talking about their health … We tend to put things off.”
His call comes at a critical moment: the UK’s National Screening Committee is currently weighing whether to introduce a formal prostate cancer screening programme. Cameron acknowledged that the issue is complex — there are valid concerns around overdiagnosis, test accuracy, and unnecessary treatment. But he argued that technological advances and changing evidence make this a good moment to reconsider.
Leading charities have welcomed his intervention. Prostate Cancer UK, for instance, has stressed that early diagnosis can make all the difference, particularly for men at higher risk.
Prostate cancer remains the most common cancer in UK men, with around 55,000 new diagnoses annually.
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