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In England, a new, simple device placed in toilets aims to better inform men about cancer affecting them. A device as small as a piece of plastic and yet decisive.
What do men do in front of urinals? They naturally look in front of them (just to aim well). A habit which inspired the National Health Service (NHS), the British health system, a new ingenious prevention campaign against male cancers.
Small mats with an impactful message directly in the urinal
According to a press release published on Wednesday, the NHS collaborated with P-Wave, a leading brand of urinal products to design clearly visible messages: these are small brightly colored mats, to be placed at the bottom of the urinal, and which indicate a very simple message but strong enough to appeal to the person who is urinating
“Blood in your pee? Contact your GP practice.” (“Blood in your pee? Contact your doctor’s office”).
These will be affixed to the bottom of thousands of urinals across the country, in pubs, restaurants, shops, hotels and sports stadiums. Suffice it to say that it will not be possible to avoid them.
Objective: better inform men who do not know the symptoms
The message thus reminds that the presence of blood in the urine, even occasionally, can be a symptom of bladder, kidney or prostate cancer.
Other symptoms should also be taken into account and should prompt you to consult:
- Frequent urge to urinate;
- A burning sensation when urinating;
- Difficulty urinating;
- A bump or swelling in the back.
Unfortunately, many men do not know the signs or give them little importance. The prevention campaign reflects this here, since it also carried out a parallel study to support its point. Thus, 46% of those questioned are unaware that blood in the urine is a symptom of cancer, and 39% say they wait until they have noticed blood in their urine several times before consulting.
On the other hand, more than half of men admit to using a urinal! So diverting it into support was a great idea!
“Cancer survival is at an all-time high and we’re seeing more cancers than ever before being detected at an early stage – and this partnership with P-wave is just one of the many ways we’re helping people take awareness of possible symptoms of cancer”said Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer of the NHS.