Eighty-two per cent of men with prostate cancer in Ghana die annually

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Accra-Ghana, May 3, GNA – Eighty-two per cent of men with prostate cancer in Ghana die annually, Professor Alex Adjei, Chair, Taussig Cancer Institute, has said.
He said this indicated that the mortality rate of prostate cancer in the country was higher than deaths related to breast and cervical cancers.
Prof Adjei revealed this at an annual public lecture on cancer, organised by Soroptimist International Accra Club on the theme “How Can We Stop Deaths from Prostate Cancer?”
He said this was a worrying situation because comparing Ghana to other countries such as the US and the UK, they recorded more cases of prostate cancer annually, but have lower mortality rates, and the majority survive.
Prof Adjei said Ghana, which had three times lower incidence of prostate cancer, however, had higher mortality compared to those countries due to late reporting.
He said it was thus important for men to have annual checks regularly to enable them to catch it early to prevent deaths.
Prostate cancer is a cancer that occurs in the prostate. The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.
The disease in its early stage may cause no symptoms but in its advanced state, men could experience trouble urinating, decreased force in the stream of urine, blood in the urine, blood in the semen, bone pain, loss of weight without trying, and erectile dysfunction.
The disease only kills when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and the overall fourth most common cancer.
It is estimated that 1.4 million cases and 375,304 deaths were recorded in 2020.
Prof Adjei said for men with a higher risk of getting prostate cancer, which included African men and men with a family history of the disease, should talk to their doctors at age 40 and above.
“This is necessary because such men may harbour aggressive prostate cancer, which if not treated early would reach an advanced stage”, he added.
He explained that research indicated that young men were not off the hook of getting prostate cancer and as such it was important that they ate healthy, exercise, and do annual Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) check-ups when 50.
Prof Adjei explained that to prevent prostate cancer deaths it was important that men avoided getting the disease and advised spouses to support and care for men with the ailment for them to go through treatment stages successfully.
Dr Bernard Toboh, a Urologist, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, during a panel discussion described prostate cancer as having no respect for the person and thus called for sensitization to ensure people were educated.
Dr Adrian Oddoye, General Practitioner, Akai House Clinic, encouraged more screening and advised doctors to ensure their patients adhered to it.