Prostate cancer death rates are being fueled by a lack of knowledge and inadequate data, say medical professionals
Poor awareness, lack of data on prostate cancer fueling death rates – Medical experts. Medical professionals in Kogi State have expressed regret about the lack of information on prostate cancer patients in Nigeria.
A group of medical professionals speaking on behalf of the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lokoja’s Cancer of the Prostate Trans-Atlantic Consortium (CAPTC) asserted that prostate cancer is the second highest cause of death for males in Nigeria on the eve of prostate cancer awareness month on Wednesday.
The fact that there are no data on men with prostate cancer, despite it being one of the major causes of death for men in Nigeria, according to the team leader of CAPTC, Dr. Taiwo Jones Olaoluwa, a consultant surgeon at the Federal Medical Center in Lokoja, is highly concerning.
“Here at the Federal Medical Center Lokoja, we really manage a cancer registry. The Federal Ministry of Health’s central cancer registry is meant to get such information, but the only ones we have are the patients who physically enter the hospital. Without sufficient diagnosis, we are unable to input data.
So you cannot designate a patient as having died from prostate cancer if they passed away in a private hospital without your confirmation. The only information we have is that which FMC allows us to diagnose. And it is a significant issue that has to be investigated if we’re going to lower the number of men dying from prostate cancer in Nigeria.
He claimed that the purpose of the awareness campaign is to raise awareness of prostate cancer, which he called a silent killer illness for men aged 50 and older.
The physician added that the greatest method to lower the prostate cancer death rate in Nigeria is by early identification and testing.
According to Dr. Ayodeji Ogunmola, a consultant urologist at Federal Medical Center Lokoja, the goal of the Cancer of the Prostate Trans-Atlantic Consortium (CAPTC) is to reduce the discrepancy in male prostate cancer.
In order to lower the number of deaths attributable to the disease, he said that there is no known cause for prostate cancer and that all levels of government should fund cancer research.
“Prevention, they say, is always preferable to treatment,” he said. Generally speaking, prostate cancer is rampant in society, especially in developing nations like Nigeria, due to inadequate funding and a lack of education to make people aware of the condition.
Instead of getting regular screenings to catch the disease early and start the right therapy, many individuals opt to attribute this ailment on the nasty people in their neighborhood. Things grow worse by the time we start seeing people who are already at an advanced stage and for whom there isn’t much that can be done in terms of services.
Therefore, the majority of patients frequently think they are facing death. however this is not the case. The solution is to invest in cancer research, identify it quickly, and be able to implement effective therapy that will lengthen life.
Dr. Olatunde Alabi, Chief Medical Director at Federal Medical Center Lokoja, stated earlier in his remarks that the administration of FMC is dedicated to lowering prostate cancer in Nigeria.
“One of the tumors that is common in this setting is prostate cancer. The government’s awareness campaign has seen adequate progress. If you are tested sooner and take the necessary action, you can avoid it. Our current efforts focus on early detection, awareness, diagnosis, and treatment, he continued.
Only seen in men, prostate cancer is a type of cell abnormality that starts in the glandular cells of the prostate.