Men in the borough need to get clued up about cancer according to doctors trying to raise awareness about the disease in conjunction with a national campaign.

They say it’s time for men in Newham to face up to cancer as a nationwide campaign called “Blue September” gets underway to raise awareness about all male cancers.

Men are 40 per cent more likely to die from cancer than women. This is mainly because, generally, they drink and smoke more and have a poorer diet than women. They also tend to wait longer before seeking help after spotting signs of cancer.

Dr Zuhair Zarifa, chair of Newham CCG and local GP said: “It’s so much more common for my male patients to put a brave face on something that could turn out to be really serious.

“We are more able to help if we can detect cancers early. Being aware of the signs and acting on them could save your life.”

Every year around 80,000 men in the UK die from cancer, most commonly bowel, lung and prostate cancer. Many of these deaths could be prevented by getting help earlier or by living more healthily.

You should visit your GP if you spot the following signs and symptoms of cancer or benign conditions:

*Bowel cancer: blood in your stools; unexplained change in your bowel habits such as prolonged diarrhoea or constipation and/or unexplained weight loss

*Lung cancer: persistent cough; coughing up blood; persistent breathlessness; unexplained tiredness and weight loss; an ache or pain when breathing or coughing

*Prostate cancer: needing to pee more frequently, especially at night; difficulty starting to pee; straining to pee or take a long time to finish; blood in pee and pain when peeing or during sex

*Skin cancer: appearance of new mole or a change in an existing mole

*Testicular cancer: a painless lump or swelling in the testicles; a dull ache in the scrotum or a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum.