WHEN the call for regular screening for prostate cancer for men
above 40 years of age become almost an everyday song in the lips of Nigerian
medical experts many people did not see it as an important call.
Some even made jest of it while some see it as an avenue for doctors to make more money. Unfortunately, today statistics available have shown that more Nigerian men are coming down with prostate cancer.
Some even made jest of it while some see it as an avenue for doctors to make more money. Unfortunately, today statistics available have shown that more Nigerian men are coming down with prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer is cancer that
occurs in the prostate gland. Cancer begins when cells in a part of the body
start to grow out of control. Cells are the building blocks of the body. It is
now the number one cancer killer of Nigerian men and has a mortality rate of
over 80 percent.
PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING
However, the call for regular
screening for prostate cancer may have been justified as studies have shown
that in reality there are a number of differences in how prostate cancer
impacts black men compared to men of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
According to experts, black men are
60 percent more likely than white men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer
during their lifetime, and are more than twice as likely to die from the
disease.
Black men are also diagnosed at a
younger age (about 3 years younger on average) and are more likely to have
“high grade” tumours – the kind of tumours that grow rapidly, spread to other
parts of the body, and often cause death.
“Having a father or brother with
prostate cancer more than doubles one’s risk. The risk is higher for men who
have a brother with the disease than for those with an affected father.
The modifiable risk factors include
diet, obesity, smoking, workplace exposures and sexual activity. Men who eat a
lot of red meat or high-fat dairy products appear to have a slightly higher
chance of getting prostate cancer. Men who are obese have a higher risk of
getting more aggressive prostate cancer. Smoking has been linked to a possible
small increase in the risk of death from prostate cancer. There is evidence
that fire fighters are exposed to toxic combustion products that may increase
their risk.
According to a health practitioner,
Dr Matthew Ogwah, black men may be more prone to the disease due to genetic
factors. “Some genes have been identified in black men that are associated with
an increased risk of prostate cancer and with high grade tumours.
There’s also the socioeconomic
issue- a black man in a developing nation like Nigeria with inadequate
facilities to tackle serious health challenges like cancer, stands a poorer
chance of survival from cancer than say an American, who probably has health
insurance and better healthcare facilities for screening, treatment and
cure.
People that eat a lot of red meat
tend to have higher rate of prostrate cancer than those that eat lots of fish,
vegetables and the likes. Also weight can also increase one’s risk, people that
are over weight have more high risk than those with moderate weight. Lack
of exercise (inactivity), is another risk factor. People that don’t exercise
have high risk of prostrate cancer; even if you are trim, and you don’t
exercise, your risk of prostrate cancer increases. Other factors are smoking
and people with diabetes.
People living with diabetics are at
higher risk and are more likely to die of prostrate cancer than other people.
However, risk factors do not tell us everything. Many people with one or more
risk factors never get cancer, while others who get cancer may have had few or
no known risk factors,” she said.
So, what are the symptoms, she was
asked. “These could be summarized into three: urinary symptoms, sexual symptoms
and pain symptoms. The urinary symptoms include difficulty in passing urine,
poor urine flow, bloody urine, frequent passage of urine especially at night
and inability to hold urine. Prostate cancer can also cause a man to have
trouble getting an erection (impotence) or painful ejaculation.
It may also cause pain in the hips,
back (spine), chest (ribs), or other areas when the cancer spreads to the
bones. So, that arthritis might just be prostate cancer! “Other symptoms
include weakness or numbness in the legs or feet, or even loss of bladder or
bowel control from cancer pressing on the spinal cord.
However, there are other diseases
that can also cause many of these same symptoms. For example, trouble passing
urine is much more often caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) than
cancer. Still, it is important to tell your doctor if you have any of these
problems so that the cause could be found and treated.
On the other hand, early prostate
cancer does not usually show any symptoms, making detection difficult. For this
reason, men over 50 (and black men over 40) should go for yearly prostate
checks. Screening can be done with a blood test called prostate-specific antigen
(PSA) and/ or a digital rectal exam (DRE).”
According to Ogwah, symptoms begin
with waist pain and difficulty in urination. it starts with waist pain. Then
when the prostate is really fully blown up, to pee will be difficult and
painful because the urethra is completely blocked. That is because of the
pressure between the bladder and the prostate and the pressure on the urethra
which is the hole where the urine passes through. So once it has blocked like
that, the individual cannot pee and that is where the problem starts.”
He advised the eating of fresh foods
such as vegetables to prevent prostrate and other cancers. “Cancer can be
prevented by eating fresh foods such as vegetables and things that contain
vitamin E and B which are anti-oxidants that prevents it. As a matter of fact,
if we eat right, cancer can be prevented. We didn’t use to have cancer in
Africa when we were eating fresh foods. It is a result of eating over processed
foods,” he said.
Screening, early detection is
essential
Just like in most other cancers,
early detection through screening could help in prostrate cancer prevention,
treatment and cure. “Regular screening is the key to prevention of prostrate
cancer and other types of cancer. Prostrate cancer can be picked up at an early
stage if men do their screening every year to check their (PAS) or Prostrate
Specific Antigens-it is protein that is produced by men.
The protein is supposed to be less
than 4mg/L in men; when it becomes prostrate cancer, its elevated. When a man
does his PAS check regularly, he would be able to notice when the PAS increases
and take proper action.
No comments:
Post a Comment