Published on March 12, 2012 by TheNEWS ????? No Comments ILORIN: The revelation that not less than 2,000 men die of prostate cancer yearly in Nigeria was startling. Perhaps more disturbing was the revelation by Dr. Ademola Popoola, a consultant urologist with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin, that while the death rate of prostate cancer has shown a steady decline across the globe in recent years, the reverse is the case in Nigeria and other sub-African countries; more deaths continue to occur as a result of the increasing rate of the disease.
? Professor Wahab Johnson, who represented the VC, Unilorin, at the seminar
Popoola was speaking two weeks ago on Prostate Cancer: Awareness, prevention and Screening, as part of the third edition of Health Education Seminar of the University of Ilorin, organised by the institution?s Board of Health in conjunction with the Faculty of Clinical Services.
While stating that men of any age are prone to the disease, Popoola disclosed that it is found most often in those over the age of 50, and more than 80 per cent of men with prostate cancer are over the age of 65. The disease remains a puzzle because, according to Popoola, no one knows its causes while doctors often cannot explain why one man develops it and another does not. Noting that prostate cancer is not contagious, he identified its symptoms as the urgency to urinate, difficulty in starting or stopping the urine flow, inability to urinate, weak, decreased or interrupted urine stream, burning or pain during urination and blood in the urine among others.
To the consultant, there is no proven prostate cancer prevention strategy. But the risk can be reduced by making healthy choices such as exercising and eating a healthy diet. In this regard, he advised on the choice of a low fat diet, eating more fat from plants than from animals, increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables taken each day and reducing the amount of dairy products taken each day.
Speaking on the topic, Cervical Cancer: An Overview, Professor Abdulgafar Jimoh, a consultant gynaecologist, disclosed that cervical cancer is the commonest genital cancer in women in Nigeria, particularly in the northern part, while it is second to breast cancer in the South.
He said: ?Cervical cancer is an important and leading cause of death in women aged 45-65 years in Nigeria while 60-75 per cent of women who develop cervical cancer live in rural areas.?
Jimoh expressed disappointment that the disease is yet to be recognised as a public health problem, particularly by government, despite the deaths caused by it. Though the disease is preventable, he regretted that it is not yet a preventable disease in the country, making women to experience undignified and extremely painful deaths that often go unnoticed except by those closest to them.
To another consultant gynaecologist, Dr. Rakia Saidu, vaccination plus screening is the most potent approach to reducing the incidence of cervical cancer. Those at the risk of having it, she said, are women who initiate sex early, have multiple sexual partners and do not have screening tests or fail to follow up with testing or treatment after an abnormal Pap test.
Focusing on breast cancer, a consultant surgeon, Dr. G.A Rahman, who noted that breast cancer is the second leading cause of death and the most common cancer, said its incidence increases with age and all women are at risk. Some of the warning signs and symptoms of the disease, she said, include painless lump or thickening, nipple pain and breast skin irritation. ?Breast cancer is extremely rare before 20, relatively uncommon before 30 while the incidence rises rapidly with age till about 50 and less so after that,? she said.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, had pointed out that scientific studies had shown that many cancers can be cured if detected early, admonishing the participants to take full advantage of the lectures to enjoy better health. Oloyede was represented by the Dean of Clinical Sciences, Professor Wahab Johnson.
? Reported by Stephen Oni
Tags:? Clinical Services, Dr. Ademola Popoola, Surgery, Teaching Hospital, University of Ilorin
Source: http://thenewsafrica.com/2012/03/12/x-raying-dangers-of-prostate-cancer/
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