Medical firm hails ‘phenomenal’ response to prostate cancer initiative

A prostate cancer screening programme launched by Sir Chris Hoy and Kenny Logan earlier this week has received a “truly phenomenal” response, one of the companies delivering it has said.

So far, nearly 6,000 men have booked into the Scottish Prostate Cancer Initiative, which is running testing sessions across Scotland throughout 2026.

A “substantial” number of the bookings have been made by women on behalf of men.

The initiative got under way in Linwood, Renfrewshire on Saturday, where 600 men were tested, and a further 500 are due to be screened in Paisley on Sunday.

Another 1,300 men are also booked into testing sessions in Glasgow on Monday and Tuesday next week.

Jamie Hunter, from Johnstone in Renfrewshire, was one of the first men to be tested under the scheme.

“This is a brilliant project,” the 48-year-old said.

“Men have not been great at coming forward but this has made it so easy and accessible.

“My partner works in the NHS and was all for me getting tested today.”

The initiative will see 25,000 men aged between 40 and 80 offered free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, and asked to donate samples for research into prostate cancer.

The aim of the study is to explore how the existing clinical pathway for detecting and treating prostate cancer can be improved.

Findings from the study will be made available to NHS Scotland.

Each participant is asked to give a simple blood sample to measure PSA levels.

A range of more advanced diagnostic tests will also be deployed across selected groups of men to help develop a greater understanding of the role of genetic risk and the significance of other biochemical markers in the origins of prostate cancer.

Launching the scheme earlier this week, Sir Chris Hoy urged all men over 40 to get tested for prostate cancer, saying, “it could save your life”.

The initiative is being delivered by EDX Medical Group, a leading digital diagnostics company, in conjunction with the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust, a prostate health awareness charity.

EDX Medical founder Professor Sir Chris Evans said: “The response to this project has been truly phenomenal and shows that apart from there being a great demand from men to know their own health status, there is also a real desire to help shape the future of prostate cancer diagnosis.

“It has been extremely interesting to see a substantial number of booking inquiries being made by women on behalf of men.”

The project is also supported by a range of organisations and employers across Scotland.

Leading Scottish business figures supporting the initiative include Sir Tom Hunter, Sandy and James Easdale, Lord Haughey, Eddie Hawthorne of the Arnold Clark Group, and Andrew Malcolm, chief executive of the Malcolm Group.

Speaking at Saturday’s testing event, which was held at the Malcolm Group’s Donald Malcolm Heritage Centre in Linwood, Mr Malcolm said: “This is a great initiative we are delighted to support and the response from the public and our employees has been tremendous.”

A free PSA test can be booked at www.scottishprostate.com. Further dates and venues for the initiative will be announced and added over the course of the year.