19 November 2025

1.3 million families at higher risk of prostate cancer: National Giving Day urges Australians to take action

Australians are being urged to donate to life-saving prostate cancer research on Thursday, 20 November for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s Annual National Giving Day.

More than 1.3 million Australian men have been diagnosed with prostate cancer since 1982, when records began, with new warnings that all of their direct male relatives now face double the risk of diagnosis, but may not know it.

Funds raised on Giving Day will be doubled to help find better ways of diagnosing and treating the disease, which is now at pandemic levels, with 79 Australian men newly diagnosed every day.

Mr Ross Hillier, 44, and a father of four children, from Bunbury in Western Australia, was diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer in April.

“I had no symptoms. I just went to my GP for a general check-up and he included a PSA test,” Mr Hillier said.

“When I got the call that my PSA levels were high (7.9), my world turned upside down. It was a complete shock as I had no family history of prostate cancer.”

Mr Hillier underwent a robotic prostatectomy in Perth in June.

“The surgery went well, but recovery wasn’t easy. The thing I really struggled with — and it’s nobody’s fault — was people trying to relate by saying things like, ‘Oh yeah, my dad or my uncle had prostate cancer’,” Mr Hillier said.

“It’s a totally different situation when you’re still working, raising a young family, and trying to hold everything together. I never said anything to anyone, but at home, my wife, Lynnette, and I found it really hard. We just had to face it in our own way.”

Now back at work and spending weekends with his children, Mr Hillier is using his story to encourage other men, particularly those with a family history, to get checked.

“Early detection saved my life. If sharing my story gets even one bloke tested, or it saves my kids from prostate cancer, it’s worth it.”

PCFA CEO Anne Savage urged all Australians to be aware of their family history of prostate cancer.

“If you have a father or brother with prostate cancer, your own risk doubles, giving you up to a 1-in-2 chance of being diagnosed,” Ms Savage said.

“Hundreds of thousands of Australian men with a family history are facing a death trap if they do not take action and test for the disease starting from the age of 40.

“We urgently need more research to better understand these inherited risks, to develop new treatments, and to improve the odds of survival for the increasing number of younger men who are diagnosed every year.”

“This Giving Day, we’re calling on Australians to stand with us so that no man has to face prostate cancer alone. With greater investment in research, earlier testing, and more specialist nurses, we can save lives.”

Donate today and double your impact: pcfagivingday.org.au

For more information about prostate cancer, or to find a support group, visit www.prostate.org.au or phone 1800 22 00 99 to speak with a Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse.