Sodiq Ojuroungbe
The death of the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu in Germany, where he had been undergoing intensive care for prostate cancer, took most Nigerians by surprise.
And since his death was confirmed, an avalanche of tributes have been pouring in from all quarters.
The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju in a statement revealed that the late governor succumbed to complications arising from protracted prostate cancer.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every 100 people with prostates, 13 will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
The US CDC described prostate cancer as the second most common cancer affecting men and people assigned male at birth.
The international agency said prostate cancer develops in the prostate, a small walnut-shaped gland located below the bladder and in front of the rectum in men and people assigned male at birth.
It further revealed that an estimated 375,304 people worldwide died from prostate cancer in 2020.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, a medical practitioner, Dr Akinsola Akinde urged men to pay better attention to sudden or gradual changes in their health and seek prompt medical intervention.
According to him, seeking medical explanations for changes observed in the body could help in the early detection of prostate cancer in men.
The expert advised men not to ignore frequent urination and chronic back pain, noting that they could be signs of prostate cancer.
The physician said prostate cancer is now a common health condition affecting men, but noted that it can be treated if diagnosed early.
He stated that men who are 50 or older are often more at risk of coming down with prostate cancer.
While noting that there were no specific causes of prostate cancer, Akinde stressed that the disease is common among blacks, including African-Americans.
He stressed that there was a need for men above 50 years to go for regular prostate-specific antigen tests to confirm if their prostate enlargement is cancerous or negative.
The physician explained, “We don’t know what causes prostate cancer. There are suggestions but then they are just postulates. It is a disease very common among blacks. Even in America, African Americans are at higher risk.
“All men are at risk of having prostate cancer. If you get to the age of 50, you should do a routine screening. There is a test that can be done that will help to pick up the diseases at an early stage. The thing about cancer is that it is usually in different stages, and if you can pick up cancer at stage one, you can more or less cure it.
“These symptoms I mentioned are not specific to prostate cancer. What these symptoms mean is that they are suggesting prostate enlargement. Prostate enlargement could either be negative or it could be cancerous.
“If you are in that age group and you can’t hold on to your urine and you have to rush to the restroom, we call it urgency, and that goes to show that you are having a problem with your prostate. When you are passing blood in your urine, it is also a sign that you are having prostate cancer. When you see any of the symptoms, you need to do a test to confirm if it is negative or cancerous.
“So, if you are 50 and above, you should do the test regularly. If you have a high blood level, you will be subjected to other tests to confirm if you have cancer.”
The medical expert lamented that Nigerians do not go for medical checkups “Until the disease becomes almost incurable”.
An online health portal, Cleveland Clinic listed pain or burning sensation during urination, loss of bladder control, loss of bowel control, painful ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, blood in semen, and pain in the lower back, hip, or chest as some of the symptoms of prostate cancer.
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