Last week when I visited Maggie's, in the grounds of Southampton General Hospital, I managed to enter via a window, and gate crashed the men's support group. They were very welcoming, despite my somewhat unexpected arrival, and it was a great opportunity for an impromptu chat about prostate cancer screening.
It was (as always) a pleasure to see Deacon Paul Hollingworth, from the Abbey there, and to talk to members of the group about their experience of diagnosis and treatment. Although cervical cancer screening rates at 68.8% for women are still far below the 80% target rate , there is still no national NHS prostate cancer screening programme for men. Men can ask their GP for a PSA test, but hopefully we are on the cusp of a roll out of a national screening programme. It is disgraceful that it is the only major cancer without a programme, and for too many men there is still a stigma about talking about it.
I have already raised this with Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, on behalf of the constituents who have been in touch with me, and will continue to press him on this. We have got quite good at talking about female cancers, and we need to be as focused on prostate cancer which is the single biggest cancer in men.
I also had the chance to meet up with Romsey resident Jennie Maizels who was running one of her wonderful sketching classes at Maggie's. Jennie's method is used in numerous settings across the country, from rehab units to prisons, and I am hoping to get an exhibition of some of her pupils work in Parliament. I think it would be fabulous way to showcase what art can do to help people when they are at their lowest ebb.
Having attended the Women in Construction Awards last week, next week I am off to a conference on Women in Stem. There are still big challenges in getting young women inspired to join traditionally male led sectors, and I certainly enjoy the work I do with people like Michaela Wain and Roni Savage. They really are great at setting an example of how hard work yields results, and the awards night last week was a fantastic celebration. I was a judge in the "Male Ally" category, which was very keenly contested, and a reminder that men can sometimes be the biggest champions.