Raising prostrate cancer awareness among men

Despite the misconception that prostrate cancer only affects elderly men, medical evidence shows that any male is at risk if he is above the age of 40 and has had a family member who has had the cancer before.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in men all over the world. The cancer affects the prostate gland, which is a part of the male reproductive system.

The prostate is located immediately below the bladder and just in front of the urinary bowel. It mainly produces fluids which protect and enrich the sperms. Usually, when one has the cancer, this function is disrupted.

Little attention
Other common signs and symptoms that easily manifest when one has the cancer include slow flow of urine, pain ejaculations, blood in either urine or semen, reduced ability to get an erection, sudden desire to urinate as well as having a decreased sexual libido.

Statistics from the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) at Mulago Hospital show that 40 of every 1,000 men develop prostate cancer every year and only 46 per cent of these men will survive at the end of five years.

According to Dr Fred Okuku, the senior oncologist, many men across the country lose their lives because they pay very little attention to the cancer. “A big percentage of the men in this country have the perception that the cancer affects only the elderly and yet most times it is not the case,” he says.

The doctor clears this wrong impression by noting that as long as any male is above 40 years, chances are always high for acquiring the deadly cancer.

Diet and genetics
The chances are even higher if one often eats red meat or takes a high quota of fatty dairy products. Also, the chances are just as high if the person is obese (overweight) or has ever had a close family member, most probably a father or brother who has ever suffered from the cancer before.

“Doing early cancer screenings at various health centres is the only way to rule out the possibility of not having the cancer,” Dr Okuku says.

So, to increase prostate cancer awareness drive, UCI in partnership with Movember, Rotary Uganda, Grameen Foundation, and Victoria University have embarked on a campaign to educate individuals more about the disease this month.

Raising awareness
This is called Movember, a moustache growing campaign, under the theme “Early Presentation for Prostate Cancer Screening”. It is simply encouraging all men to grow their moustaches as a sign that they are for the fight against the cancer.

During the awareness campaign, the collaborative initiative hopes to raise funds that will facilitate screening for prostate cancer that will be implanted by Rotary Uganda in 2013.

Dr Okuku says around this time last year, a total of Shs27m was raised and was mainly used for research on prostate cancer at the institute.

“The research is still ongoing but the findings will be ready by December 2013. By this time, we shall know how to best avail help to the men suffering from the disease,” he adds and points out that the women can play a major role by convincing the men to go for regular screenings.

How to Get Help:
Treatment of the cancer is most times through chemotherapy or an operation called a radical prostatectomy, which involves the removal of the entire prostate gland.

The surgery usually halts spreading of the cancer to other parts of the body.