Prostate Education Programme Essential

New Zealand First is calling on the Government to introduce a national education programme for men about prostate cancer.

This comes after the National Health Committee rejected a proposed screening programme for men for prostate cancer saying the tests were not thorough enough and would not prolong life expectancy.

“Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in New Zealand men and it is time that men were educated about the disease so they can be tested to ensure the cancer can be diagnosed as early as possible,” said health spokesperson Barbara Stewart.

“It is essential that some kind of education programme is developed to encourage men, particularly over the age of 50, to be tested for the disease.

“Over the last ten years the focus has been on women and breast cancer and the positive results can already be seen, now it is time to start looking at the problems that men are facing,” said Mrs Stewart.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>