A Calne man is campaigning to make sure men with prostate cancer receive the best possible care, regardless of where they live.

Jim Laing, who has had prostate cancer himself, attended this year’s Conservative Party conference in Birmingham along with Prostate Cancer UK.

He asked a number of politicians to back the charity’s quality checklist, which outlines what support men should expect to receive from the health service throughout their treatment.

Mr Laing, who last year joined the charity in lobbying at the Labour Party conference, said: “For men with prostate cancer, good quality care and support throughout their journey with the disease is crucial, particularly as many treatments can often result in life-changing side effects.”

The quality checklist aims to helps men know what information, care and support they should expect, based on the experiences of other men who have had the disease.

It was produced because surveys show that, despite recent improvements in treatments, there is a wide regional variation in the experience of care that men with prostate cancer receive.

Dr Sarah Cant, director of policy and campaigns at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “It is unacceptable that the quality of support experienced by men with prostate cancer varies across the country. In order to address this we hope that our quality checklist is widely adopted.

Men with prostate cancer deserve the best, and we’re absolutely determined that’s exactly what they are going to get.”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. Every year in the UK over 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 250,000 UK men are currently living with the disease.

To view the quality checklist visit www.prostatecanceruk.org/qualitycare.