By Job Osazuwa

Cancer is a deadly disease.  Anytime the dreaded scourge is mentioned, the female folks readily come to mind as, perhaps, as the only people solely at risk. However, the men also cry over cancer.

As breast cancer poses dangers to women, so is prostate cancer to men. It is a disease that only affects men, especially those in their 50s and above. And the number of people struck by the disease is increasing daily.  Experts believe that most elderly men have traces of prostate.

Cancer, of any type, is one ailment that sends fear to the patients and family members alike. Unlike in the past when diagnosis was still at the lowest ebb, more awareness is now created to mitigate its damning consequences.

Prostate cancer creeps slowly into the patient, making it difficult to easily detect. According to findings, many unknowingly live with it for months and years before major symptoms begin to manifest. The disease habitually shrinks and devastates its patients, unleashing loads of excruciating pains on them while it lasts. Many have died from the disease, which respects no social class.

According to medical practitioners, it has become a leading ‘silent’ killer in Nigeria. Most men are dying from the disease due to late presentation to health facilities. In this part of the world, most victims will choose to either wish the disease away or blame it on witchcraft. To these people, the hospital is always the last port of call, when all spiritual help has failed and their condition has obviously become irredeemable.

Prostate cancer, a non-communicable disease, represents the leading cause of death among black male populations globally. Some urologists have suggested that up to 40 per cent of men in Nigeria could be living with problems in their prostate. Behind the statistics of prostate cancer deaths are tears, pains and sorrows in families and loved ones, who wondered on whether something could be done to prevent it.

However, experts insist that early detection and treatment in order to improve outcome and survival remains the cornerstone of cancer control.

A general practitioner in Lagos, Dr. Usman Mustapha, defines prostate as a gland in the male reproductive system, which makes most of the semen that carries sperm. He said the walnut-sized gland is located beneath the bladder and surrounds the upper part of the urethra in the male body, while explaining that prostate cancer was a very slow growing type of cancer, often causing no symptoms until it is in an advanced stage.

According to him, most men with prostate cancer never know that they have the disease until it begins to grow quickly or spread outside the prostate, which he called a dangerous stage. He assured that the disease could be treated with a very good chance of survival only if it is detected in its early stages.

Mustapha, who said advances in science has made more drugs available to tackle the disease, however, warned that once it spreads beyond the prostate (such as to the bones, lymph nodes, and lungs) it becomes incurable, but might be controlled for years.

He revealed that some men with advanced prostate cancer live a normal life and die of another cause, such as heart-related diseases.

To a professor of Radiotherapy and Oncology at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL)/Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Aderemi Ajekigbe, the global incidence of cancer is soaring but the cases are worse and death rates are higher in Nigeria because cancer patients are usually poor and have little access to treatment in the country.

“Even most of the patients who can afford to treat their cancer abroad come back in body bags. That is why we need to have more of our own facilities that will enable us screen, detect and treat cancer cases early. We cannot afford to lose more Nigerians to cancer. Government should dedicate the proceeds from an oil block to the provision of cancer equipment and treatment. It is a need,” he said.

The oncologist defined cancer as an abnormal and uncontrolled growth that persists in the body.

In 2015, Dr. Ovunda Omudu of the Department of Surgery at Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, raised the alarm that 40 per cent of men above 40 years were living with prostate cancer and many were unaware of their status.

He corroborated Ajekigbe and Mustapha’s view that the disease has killed many men due to several factors, including poor awareness, knowledge, ignorance and manpower.

Dr. Michael Oluwadare, who practises at a private hospital in Lagos, told our reporter that treatment for the disease was usually expensive, and beyond the reach of many poor patients. He concurred with his colleagues that many had died of the sickness due to lack of awareness.

Said he: “I have a patient I’m treating of the disease. He is 92 years old. We called it old men’s sickness.

“It is our responsibility to educate and enlighten Nigerian men on dangers of prostate cancer, so that they can live a happy and healthy life in active and inactive service. Although, it is unfortunate that treatment and screening for prostate cancer is the responsibility of the patient against what is obtainable in advanced countries, one cannot fold his arms and die a preventable death,” he said.

Oluwadare said regular testing was crucial, as the cancer needs to be diagnosed before metastasis (spread of cancer cells to new areas of the body) sets in.

Individual tasks

Prostate cancer is conquerable but it requires requisite knowledge and adequate personal actions, like screening to detect and catch early. Every man of 40 years old and above is advised to have a medical check-up and discuss with his doctors about prostate cancer.

Ajekigbe said: “The earlier the patient reports for treatment after detection, the higher the chances of survival and vice versa. Cancer proves difficult for us here because people don’t come early for treatment.”

Similarly, Mustapha stated: “It is important to know that it is your body and you have the responsibility to take care of it.”

Causes of prostate cancer

Doctors have not been able to pinpoint the exact causes of the disease, but men with a family history of prostate cancer are said to be more likely to get it.

Experts have said that certain diets also contribute to the risk of contracting the disease. According to a research carried out in 2016 by a group of 11 oncologists in the United States of America, men who eat lots of fat from red meat are most likely to have prostate cancer. They explained that eating meat cooked at high temperatures produces cancer-causing substances that affect the prostate. And they added that consuming fats raises the amount of testosterone in the body, and testosterone speeds the growth of prostate cancer.

Meanwhile, other subsequent researches countered the claim, saying that the oncologists did not pay attention to individual with weak immune system and other inherent ailments.

In addition, researchers have found a few job hazards such as: Welders, battery manufacturers, rubber workers, and workers frequently exposed to the metal cadmium seem to be more likely to get prostate cancer.

Mustapha said not exercising regularly also makes prostate cancer more likely to surface.

Foods that fight prostate cancer

Apart from drugs, Mustapha said the disease could be prevented by eating consumables, like red tomato; green tea, seafoods, such as periwinkles and snails. Other foods that may also help reduce the risk including vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.

He said: “In fighting prostate cancer, we can’t separate the importance of eating the right foods from winning the war. But the most important thing is that one needs a regular check-up because a man is bound to be confronted with different disease.

“It is worthy to be stated that green tea contains anti-oxidant and anti-free radicals while the sea foods have magnesium, manganese, selenium and vitamins E and D, which are nutrients for prevention of prostate cancer.”

Symptoms

There are usually no symptoms during the early stages of prostate cancer. If symptoms appear, they usually involve one or more of the following: frequent urges to urinate, including at night; difficulty commencing and maintaining urination; blood in the urine; painful urination and, less commonly, ejaculation. Achieving or maintaining an erection may be difficult.

According to experts, advanced prostate cancer can involve the following symptoms: Bone pain, often in the spine, femur, pelvis, or ribs and bone fractures.

If the cancer spreads to the spine and compresses the spinal cord, there may be: leg weakness; urinary incontinence and faecal incontinence.

Fast facts on prostate cancer

Here are some key points about the prostate cancer: The prostate gland is part of the male reproductive system. The prostate produces the fluid that nourishes and transports sperm on their journey to fuse with a female ovum, or egg and produce human life. The prostate contracts and forces these fluids out during orgasm.