Rishi has given his support to an initiative encouraging more men to get tested for prostate cancer.
Rishi joined members of Darlington Lions Club at their third Prostate Cancer testing event.
Two hundred men signed up to have a free blood test to check for signs of prostate cancer – the most common form of the disease in England.
Rishi joined the Lions at the event at the Freemasons Hall in Darlington. The club had paid for 200 tests to encourage men to come forward to have the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test which detects early signs of the disease.
Rishi, who recently became an ambassador for Prostate Cancer Research and is backing the charity’s campaign for a national screening programme, praised the Lions’ initiative.
He said: “The Lions club’s work on this is fantastic. We know early detection of prostate cancer is key to a successful treatment outcome so every man who can be persuaded to come forward to get the test is potentially another life saved.
“The event was really well organised and it was great to see so many men coming through, with the tests being administered quickly and efficiently by the excellent team of nurses.”
Rishi, who paid for his blood test, also called into the Darlington Lions charity bookshop in Blackwellgate which raises the funds required to pay for the blood tests.
David Simmons, a Lions Club member and prostate cancer survivor, said: “This was our third such event and we were delighted that Mr Sunak could join us, helping to highlight this issue and as part of his work to bring about a national screening programme.”
Mr Simmons added that the club had worked with the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust which processed the results of the blood samples. By the next day men were being notified of their test results.
Pat De Martino, Darlington Lions Club president, said: “Rishi Sunak’s presence and on-going interest in the importance of early diagnosis of prostate cancer will undoubtably help more men become more aware of this killer cancer and get themselves tested.”
Rishi, who has spoken in Parliament about the need for a targeted national screening programme for the disease, said that every year, around 12,000 men die from prostate cancer.
In the UK, around 15 per cent of cases are diagnosed after the cancer has spread into other parts of the body. For cancers detected at this point, the survival rate is below 50 per cent.
A national effort was needed to boost early detection, save lives and prevent needless deaths.
