A Brecon man diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer at the age of 56 has been praised in Parliament for his efforts to improve early diagnosis and prevent other men from experiencing the same ordeal.

David Chadwick, MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, has called on the UK and Welsh Governments to introduce a national prostate cancer screening programme after raising the case of constituent Peter Morris during a Westminster Hall debate.

Mr Morris discovered he had prostate cancer entirely by chance after visiting his GP about an unrelated health issue.

By the time the disease was detected, it had already spread beyond his prostate and was incurable.

He believes that, had routine screening been available from the age of 50, his cancer might have been detected early enough for treatment with the aim of curing the disease.

Despite his terminal diagnosis, Mr Morris has been campaigning for wider screening in the hope of preventing other men and their families from going through the same experience.

During the debate, Mr Chadwick thanked Mr Morris for allowing him to share his story in Parliament and praised his courage and determination to raise awareness.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, affecting around one in eight men during their lifetime. However, there is currently no routine national screening programme for the disease.

Mr Chadwick raised concerns that proposals to restrict screening to narrowly defined high-risk groups would leave men like Mr Morris, who had no known family history of the disease, without access to routine testing.

The MP called on both governments to work towards introducing screening for men aged 50 and over, alongside targeted screening for those at greater risk.

‘Had his cancer been discovered earlier, things could have been very different’

Commenting following the debate, Mr Chadwick said: "Peter's story is absolutely heartbreaking. At just 56, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis entirely by chance, when he had gone to his GP about something completely unrelated.

"Had his cancer been discovered earlier, things could have been very different for him and his family.

"I want to personally thank Peter for allowing me to share his story in Parliament and pay tribute to the extraordinary courage he has shown.

"At a time when he and his family are dealing with something unimaginably difficult, Peter has chosen to use his own experience to raise awareness and fight for change so that others might be spared the same ordeal.

"That determination and selflessness deserve enormous recognition, and I am proud to help give his campaign a voice in Parliament.

"While I recognise there are concerns around overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, we cannot ignore the devastating consequences of cancers being detected too late.

"Advances in testing and diagnosis should be helping us overcome these challenges, rather than accepting that men like Peter will continue to fall through the cracks.

"I am calling on both the UK and Welsh Governments to work towards introducing a national prostate cancer screening programme for men aged 50 and over, alongside targeted screening for high-risk groups.

"Behind every statistic is a person and a family. We owe it to Peter and countless others to do everything we can to improve early diagnosis and give more men a fighting chance."