Prostate cancer remains one of the major cancers affecting men, yet many still put off screening until the disease has advanced.
As Ghana marks Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 3news examines why early detection remains critical, what continues to keep men away from screening, and why specialists are urging men to pay attention to their prostate health before symptoms appear.
For many men, prostate cancer remains a disease they would rather not talk about. But for Yaw Okyere, it is a reality that has shaped two generations of his family.
His father died from prostate cancer, a loss that made him more conscious about his own health and the need for regular screening.
“After his death in 2000, I decided to monitor mine. He was about 86 but he went through a lot of trauma, and I decided not to go through same. At that time, I was over 40 years, so I started checking my prostate. There’s a specific test you have to go through to see if your prostate is healthy which is called a PSA. I started checking my PSA regularly, so I continued with consultations and I had to go to the oncology or a cancer unit who checked and also confirmed there was a cancer. So in 2022 I took a decision.” Yaw Okyere who is a Prostate Cancer Survivor recalled and shared his story.
Unlike many men who seek help only after symptoms appear, Yaw’s regular check-ups led to an early diagnosis.
Medical experts say that decision can make all the difference.
“If a man above 40 years dies of cancer then it’s likely to be prostate cancer and that is the reason for this particular awareness we are doing. Also know that early detection can also be effective as well as treatment is concerned and normally you don’t want to wait for symptoms to come- people have difficulty passing urine, people have got pain at the lower abdomen area, people have gotten errectal disfunction or maybe blood in the urine or blood in the stool.
These are some of the symptoms people present with. We call it asymptomatic whereby we have done the blood test called the PSA, it is a bit elevated, you’ve sat down with your doctor, analysis have been done and we take a decision that, that prostate that is there is cancerous and we need to deal with that.” Prof. Matthew Yamoah Kyei who is a Consultant Urologist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Head at Department of Surgery, UGMC explained.
And the burden in Ghana is significant.
The latest International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates for 2024 put prostate cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Ghanaian men.
An estimated 2,817 new cases were recorded, accounting for more than one in every four male cancer cases.
An estimated 1,784 men died from the disease.
That works out to roughly eight new cases and five deaths every day.
Following consultations with doctors, Yaw opted for treatment and today, he is doing well.
But he believes fear, misconceptions and a lack of awareness continue to prevent many men from seeking help early.
“When I was in Korle Bu, I’ll go to the the GU, where they keep these people and I see how the people suffer, I didn’t want to go through same. This thing is all over. When you go to our villages, it’s there. I can talk of a situation where somebody in my village had the cancer, he retained urine and the person decided to see a pastor in Accra.
Eventually about 3 or 4 months, I heard that he died so like we say, early detection based on the thenmeeam is the best so if Government can, what they are doing should be replicated in the districts.” Yaw Okyere intimated.
It is that fear and late presentation, specialists at Korle Bu are hoping to confront this September.
As part of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is using the period to intensify education, screening and conversations around men’s prostate health.
“We are launching the prostate awareness month, a month of September, a blue month because we are using blue to represent the male. We have about 65 neurologists across the country and the vast majority of the regions in the country have neurologists there who are consulting and so we are taking this opportunity to go to the regions and communities and let them know that there’s effective treatment for prostate cancer.
So this is the beginning of the launch, we will appear on the media, we will appear in the communities, in the churches to be able to tell people that prostate cancer can be detected early and it can be cured.” Prof Matthew Yamoah Kyei mentioned.
For specialists, prostate cancer does not have to become a death sentence.
But the advantage often lies in knowing early.
So this September, the appeal to men is simple: do not wait for pain, difficulty or other symptoms before paying attention to your prostate health.
Because with prostate cancer, the earlier you know, the more options you have.
By Sarfoa Boahene
