Alison Wright will take on the role at a pivotal time for that charity. 

Prostate Scotland has appointed Alison Wright as its new CEO to lead the charity into its next phase of growth, managing a team of 10 and reporting to a board of nine trustees.

The charity’s mission is for more Scottish men to be aware of their prostate, understand the symptoms of prostate cancer and disease, get to their GP earlier, and receive treatment for what is a curable cancer in most men.

Alison joins at a pivotal moment as more of a light is being shone on prostate cancer and prostate disease as Sir Chris Hoy, King Charles, Kenny Logan, Chris Chalmers and other high-profile individuals bravely speak out, share their diagnoses and experiences to help other men.  

Starting with the development of a five-year strategy, Alison will outline the charity’s key priorities of how it provides accessible information and support to help men and their families living in Scotland navigate prostate cancer and disease.

Alison said: “I’m joining a small yet mighty team with big aspirations for what can be achieved.  I take over from Adam Gaines who successfully led projects, campaigns, partnerships and fundraising activities since the charity began.

“I’m starting with a consultation process to gain feedback from our key stakeholders on what is needed next, and I’ll consider how we continue to reach new audiences including better engagement with Scottish healthcare professionals and policy makers which has been challenging in recent years due to the pandemic. My recommendations will be presented to our board of trustees before being made public in early 2025.”

In her most recent role as CEO of Carers of West Lothian, Alison led her team through significant growth as the demand for supporting unpaid carers increased due to the pandemic, challenges in public services and the cost-of-living crisis.  

Professor Alan McNeill, founding trustee of Prostate Scotland and consultant urological surgeon, said: “We’re excited by Alison’s appointment. She has a proven track record of driving innovation and operational excellence from 19 years in third sector roles. She joins at a key moment as we expand our vision of increasing detection rates of early prostate cancer in men.

“We know men don’t always seek out mainstream health support and can ignore symptoms, and with no national screening programme for prostate cancer currently in place, that’s why it’s crucial we get the message out to more men: “Go to your GP and request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test from the age of 50.”

“For those with "high risk of prostate cancer”, men with a family history of the disease and Afro-Caribbean men, we recommend they get checked earlier.  Given that early-stage prostate cancer often doesn't show any symptoms, Afro-Caribbean men should get tested at 45, and those with a family history should have the check a decade earlier than the age their relative was when diagnosed. 

“Nearly every week as consultants, my colleagues and I encounter men in their 50s or early 60s suffering from advanced prostate cancer.  After 18 years of raising awareness with Prostate Scotland, it’s obvious we still have work to do. Because for me, every single one of these men with advanced cancer is one too many."