Death of David Webb highlights need for men to reduce risk of prostate cancer

^{David Webb, MBE, died on 13 January 2026 Photo: Wikipedia}

The death of David Webb, perhaps Hong Kong’s finest campaigner against corporate malfeasance, turns the spotlight again onto prostate cancer. One in eight men, statistically, will develop this cancer. It’s the world’s second worst killer disease. The World Cancer Research Fund says there is evidence that cooked tomato sauces*, can help prevent prostate cancer because of the lycopene they contain. Cooked sauces are better than raw tomatoes because the heating process makes lycopene more bioavailable.

Recommendations to lower your risk of prostate cancer:

• Consume two to three servings of cooked tomato sauces a week. Cook the sauce with a non-fatty product like olive oil.
• Ensure you have a comprehensive, varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables like cruciferous vegetables, and healthy fats.
• Exercise and maintain a healthy weight.

Prostate cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Men over 50 should have their prostate checked regularly, If you don’t like the thought of a male doctor putting his finger up your rectum, try to find a female doctor willing to do it.

^{Graphic: Cleveland Clinic}

Sometimes you can be developing the cancer with no symptoms at all. Other times men may have erectile dysfunction, trouble urinating and pain in the back or pelvis. Risk factors are older age, family history and race, some are more prone than others. To check whether you have prostate cancer a doctor will carry out a PSA test. They’re looking for prostate-specific antigen. This is produced for ejaculate, where it liquifies semen and allows sperm to swim freely. It also helps dissolve cervical mucus, allowing the entry of sperm into the uterus. PSA is present in healthy men but becomes elevated by prostate cancer and other disorders.

Most older men will have enlarged prostates towards the end of their lives. They die with it, not of it.

The prognosis for unlucky men, with aggressive cancer, is alarming. Once the disease metastasises it can spread into the bones and lymph nodes. Pain can be severe; leg weakness or paralysis may develop. Eventually there will be death. But some men will be lucky: after diagnosis (average age 67) their cancer may be low-risk, slow moving and they can live with it for more than 10 years.

*This is no panacea. Some studies show little or no cancer-prevention benefit from cooked tomato sauces.