Beyonce's former bodyguard who battled prostate cancer calls for national screening for black men whose risk of the disease is double

More black men will needlessly die unless a targeted prostate cancer screening programme is introduced as a priority, a campaigner has warned.

Alfred Samuels said it 'should send alarm bells' that black men such as himself are twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than other men.

But with cases often symptomless, Mr Samuels said it was vital that men in the most at-risk groups due to family history, age and ethnicity were encouraged to get tested.

He backed the Daily Mail's long-running campaign for a national prostate cancer screening programme available on the NHS for the most at-risk men, which has also received cross-party political support from a host of MPs including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, as well as former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.   

Mr Samuels, a former close protection officer for pop stars such as Beyonce and Bob Dylan, told the Mail: 'The fact that we as black men are disproportionately affected should send alarm bells, in fact it already should have sent alarm bells.

'That doesn't do anything for men of colour knowing we are in a situation where people don't seem to care about us. For me, this has been talked about for years and you just keep hearing that we are disproportionately affected.

'I just think we have got to that stage where we have got more support for this. We have a situation where at long last we have the political elite on our side and that will hopefully make things happen quicker than what has been said.

'The longer we wait, the more men will die, the more men like me will die. We need action now.'

Alfred Samuels was given only months to live when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011 - but continues to be treated succesfully

Alfred Samuels was given only months to live when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011 - but continues to be treated succesfully

Mr Samuels was previously a bodyguard for international pop stars including American chart-topper Beyonce

Mr Samuels was previously a bodyguard for international pop stars including American chart-topper Beyonce

Sir Steve McQueen, the Oscar-winning film director, has also spoken out about the need for men to be tested for prostate cancer - which disproportionately impacts black men

Sir Steve McQueen, the Oscar-winning film director, has also spoken out about the need for men to be tested for prostate cancer - which disproportionately impacts black men 

The 67-year-old from Harrow in north-west London was given just months to live when he was diagnosed in 2011, but continues to be treated successfully with hormone therapy and has his condition monitored closely.

He said a technology-backed rollout would be 'priceless'.

But he admitted being frustrated by having lengthy discussions with MPs, including those who demonstrated some of the classic symptoms of prostate cancer such as needing to use the toilet more regularly, yet politicians have not done enough to help change the guidelines.

'I don't think we are doing things quickly enough,' he said.

'In conversations when men talk to men there is this thing where they say they feel your pain to a certain degree, they empathise.

'I have spoken to a number of MPs and there are an 'X' amount who get it, who have certain issues, but then I don't hear anything.'

He added: 'The call for a targeted screening programme is getting louder, celebrities, medical professionals and the politicians I think are starting to realise this is needed now - a simple test that is accurate and works.'

Mr Samuels has been taking part in a large clinical trial since 2012 which assesses new treatment approaches for people affected by high-risk prostate cancer, including new drugs used to treat prostate cancer.

Mr Samuels has backed the Daily Mail's campaign for a national prostate cancer screening programme for at-risk men

Mr Samuels has backed the Daily Mail's campaign for a national prostate cancer screening programme for at-risk men

Sir Steve McQueen, left, pictured in 1999 with his mother Mary McQueen and father Philbert McQueen, who died with prostate cancer in 2006

Sir Steve McQueen, left, pictured in 1999 with his mother Mary McQueen and father Philbert McQueen, who died with prostate cancer in 2006

He said: 'We've gone from a situation where it was potentially terminal, and was given six months to live. So they got it wrong - very much wrong, here I am today.'

His sentiments chime with those of Oscar-winning director Sir Steve McQueen, who this weekend urged men to get checked for prostate cancer after it killed his father and a close friend.

The London-born filmmaker behind 12 Years A Slave has made a full recovery after privately battling prostate cancer following his own diagnosis in 2022.

The 55-year-old is now outspoken on the need for men to undergo a simple blood test to determine whether or not they may also show signs of the most common cancer in males.

His father Philbert died of prostate cancer in 2006 aged 67, while his friend - the novelist Alex Wheatle, also known as the Brixton Bard in honour of where he grew up, died with prostate cancer last month aged 62.

Sir Steve said: 'People are dying unnecessarily, and it's foolish.'

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