Harare, (New Ziana) – The Cancer Association of Zimbabwe (CAZ) has urged men to participate in the program to screen for prostate cancer which it is running throughout the month of June at its offices at a nominal fee.
CAZ monitoring and evaluation coordinator Lovemore Makurirofa said the recommended age for screening in Zimbabwe is 45 and above because the risk of developing prostate cancer as blacks is higher compared to non-blacks. “The survival rate for prostate cancer is reasonably higher if people access screening.
A lot of patients under treatment are doing very well. Most of them if they join support groups their survival rate is likely to be higher,” he said. Zimbabwe records about 7 800 new cancer cases every year and prostate cancer contributes 11 percent of these.
The country records around 2 500 cancer-related deaths annually, of which prostate cancer, which is known to affect men of African descent mostly compared to non-blacks, contributes 10 percent. It starts in the prostate gland, which is located just below the bladder in men and surrounds the top portion of the tube that drains urine from the bladder (urethra).
Its primary function is to produce the fluid that nourishes and transports sperm (semi-fluid).
“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Zimbabwe surpassing lung cancer, Kaposi Sarcoma and other cancers among males, of which there are two risk factors to the disease, the ones which can be changed and those that cannot be changed,” said Makurirofa.
Risk factors that cannot be changed include race, age and heredity, while one can change diet and reduce obesity, smoking and consumption of alcohol. Makurirofa said modifiable risk factors can be changed through behavioural changes and reducing diet which is high in animal fat.
Being overweight and obese poses high chances of developing prostate cancer hence the need for men to regulate their weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) by changing sedentary lifestyles and taking up regular exercising.
Men should also desist from smoking and reduce the intake of alcohol as these are some of the drivers of cancers and other non-communicable diseases.
“The current situation according to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry is that about 80 percent of cases are being diagnosed late.
This makes it very difficult for them to be treated successfully. Screening is a way of finding a disease before it shows signs and symptoms,” said Mafurirofa.
Early signs and symptoms of prostate cancer include difficulty in passing urine, blood in urine or semen, feeling pain in the groin when urinating, and feeling that the bladder has not emptied fully, among many. He said these symptoms may be a result of other problems such as non-cancerous growth in the prostate gland hence the need to visit the doctor for regular check-ups.
Makurirofa said the treatment options available in Zimbabwe usually include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, adding “in most cases, they use a combination but there is a high success rate of treatment in prostate cancer if it is detected early.”
“There are still gaps regarding screening. There is screening for cervical cancer in the rural areas but for prostate cancer screening is still centralised. We ask men to request the screening service from their general practitioners because any trained doctor is capable of performing that form of screening,” he said.
“I think some of the medical aid societies are now able to cover that screening because it is part of routine screening for males. However, there is a gap, there is need to roll out the screening services so that a lot of males can access it.”
New Ziana
