Should Every Young Man Worry About the Deadly Prostate Cancer?

Do you experience frequent, sometimes urgent need to urinate; do you feel pain while urinating; do you see blood in the urine or semen; do experience painful ejaculation; do you experience pain on your back or pelvis? One or more these signs and symptoms might be an indication that you have prostate cancer.

How common is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in Africa representing 20% of all cases of cancer in men. The global cancer observatory, a World Health Organization agency, reported 2,639 new prostate cases in 2020 in Uganda with 42 men in every 100,000 affected and projected to rise to 61men per 100,000 by 2030. These reported numbers could even be higher due to lack of sufficient data because of limited access to facilities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that, for every 100 men, 13 will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives and estimated that 34,000 people in the United States die from prostate cancer each year.

What is prostate cancer?

The prostate, a little gland that resembles a walnut (approx.25g and pear shaped) and is situated in front of the rectum and beneath the bladder in males, is where prostate cancer begins to grow. The prostate gland produces abnormal cells that grow out of control and eventually turn into a cancerous tumor. The exact cause of cancerous cells in the prostate is unknown to medical professionals.

What are the prostate cancer risk factors?

Some factors that can increase your risk of prostate cancer include:

Growing older raises your risk. If you’re over 50, you have a higher chance of being diagnosed with the disease. Prostate cancer affects adults over 65 in about 60% of the cases.
Ethnicity and Race. If you’re of African ancestry, your chances are higher.
Family history. Prostate, breast, or ovarian cancer in the family history. If a close relative, such as a father or brother, has prostate cancer, your chances of developing it are increased by two to three times.

The majority of instances of prostate cancer that are sent to Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) for treatment are already advanced. As a result, Uganda has a high cancer-related morbidity rate, yet prostate cancer if diagnosed in the early stages, before it spreads beyond the prostate gland, can be cured with treatment.

The challenge is that early-stage prostate cancer rarely causes symptoms. Symptoms may occur as the disease progresses. This makes it difficult to test and detect the disease in early stages. Consequently, is testing healthy men with no symptoms for prostate cancer the smart thing to do?

Testing healthy men is helpful for detecting early-stage prostate cancer, especially in those with multiple risk factors, which helps them get the treatment they need before the cancer grows and spreads. However, medical professionals do not currently advise screening for prostate cancer in those who do not exhibit symptoms, warning that this should be done cautiously as the advantages of testing may not outweigh the possible hazards for the majority of men. The test may result in healthy men being diagnosed and treated needlessly for slow-growing, harmless tumours, which can have negative effects and seriously impair a person’s quality of life.

Recommendations

According to current guidelines, males over 50 or over 40 who have a family history of prostate cancer (e.g., a father or brother who had the disease) should discuss with a doctor having a prostate cancer test performed as part of their routine physical examinations. An evaluation of your risk factors and your preferences for screening should be part of the conversation. Men who show any signs of prostate cancer should also think about being tested.

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By Kairos Healthcare

Reviewed by Dr. Alex Mayanja