The King’s enlarged prostate diagnosis has led to more than double the amount of men checking to see if they are at risk of prostate cancer, figures suggest.
An enlarged prostate does not usually pose a serious threat to health and it is not a symptom of cancer.
The 75-year-old monarch’s condition is benign but his public engagements will be postponed while he recuperates after a corrective procedure in a few days, Buckingham Palace announced.
The NHS reported on Thursday there had been a significant increase in searches for an “enlarged prostate” on its website after the monarch shared his diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Prostate Cancer UK has seen a big rise in the number of people using its online checker to see how at risk they are of having cancer in the small gland located in the pelvis between the penis and bladder.
There were 8,025 risk checks on Thursday, of which 6,800 were noted as high risk, according to the charity.
The figures represent an increase of 101% on the previous day (3,993) and up 139% on the previous week.
As well as the surge in checks on Thursday, the charity said that in the 24 hours since the announcement on Wednesday, there had been 7,052 risk checks – of which 5,985 were high risk.
This represented an increase of 154% compared with the same time frame the previous day (2,769), and 113% up from the previous week (3,305).
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Soon after the announcement of the King’s benign condition, experts said they anticipated his desire to share his diagnosis would lead to men with symptoms seeking help.
It is understood the monarch was keen to share his diagnosis to encourage other men who may be experiencing symptoms to get checked in line with health advice.
One in every three men over the age of 50 will have symptoms of an enlarged prostate which include needing to visit the toilet more frequently, with more urgency and having difficulty emptying their bladder.
