A new charity has been formed to raise €6 million to establish a rapid diagnostic clinic and treatment centre for men's cancer. It will also facilitate research into men's cancers.
Called the National Institute for Men's Cancers (NIMC), its members believe that once established, it could become a prototype for other such centres around the State.
Board member Thomas Lynch, a consultant urological surgeon at St James's Hospital in Dublin said it would be a one stop shop for men's cancers, rather like BreastCheck.
"At present there are long waiting times for men who think they may have cancer. They have to visit a GP, go for a biopsy, wait a few weeks for it to come back, etc, " he said. "The process takes several weeks and the aim is to cut it down to one visit."
The target is to raise the money within two years. The charity hopes to raise €6 million, from the private sector.
Mr Lynch said prostate cancer was the most common male cancer in Ireland. Around 500 men die from it every year, compared to about 600 women dying from breast cancer.
Mr Lynch said prostate cancer was "traditionally perceived as an old man's disease," but men were now being diagnosed at a "potentially curable and earlier stage".
He said that the reason the numbers of people being diagnosed was rising each year was because of increased awareness of the disease.
However, he said, traditionally men were slower to present with problems. "Women tend to know their GPs better, through having children etc, whereas men may not know their GP at all."
Mr Lynch said rapid diagnosis was very beneficial to those who had a problem as well as to the "worried well" (those who think they have a problem, but may not).
The NIMC wants to build the facility in partnership with St James's Hospital, and as part of the project will buy a state-of-the-art robotic system for surgery to the prostate gland. This is expected to cost around €1.5 million.
It will also provide an information line and an out-of-hours service for men who are worried about health issues. The centre will also expand significantly a research programme at Trinity College, Dublin, concentrating on hormone-escaped cancer.
Mr Lynch said they would be looking at markers to help diagnose prostate cancer at an earlier stage.
The NIMC is also working with the All Ireland Cancer Foundation based at Belfast City Hospital.
Mr Lynch said the centre had been endorsed by various organisations including the Irish Cancer Society.