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Prostate Cancer is on the rise in South Africa, and is the number one cancer affecting the country’s men.
The lifetime risk for Prostate Cancer in men in South Africa is 1 in 19, according to the 2014 National Cancer Registry.
But if detected early, prostate cancer has a 98% survival rate.
This falls to 26% if detected in later stages when symptoms finally start to surface.
Early detection is key and starts with a simple blood test from the age of 40, especially if you are of African descent or have a family history of prostate cancer.
“Prostate cancer numbers are increasing in the public sector,” says Dr Evelyn Moshoka, who is the head of the urology department at the University of Pretoria, “but it may be due to more referrals from periphery [services] and awareness”.
Prostate cancer patients enter the state sector at different stages but “high risk disease and metastatic cancer still accounts for majority of the cases,” says Moshoka.
Ruling out prostate cancer is relatively quick and easy – a simple screening test for Prostate Specific Antigens is all that it takes.
This test can determine your level of PSA – a protein produced by normal and cancerous prostate cells.
PSA levels tend to rise when there’s a problem with your prostate health, including the development and growth of prostate cancer.
PSA testing can detect early-stage prostate cancer and spare men with low-risk prostate cancer from intrusive tests and procedures.
Scientists believe that this simple blood test can prevent up to 70% of potentially painful and unnecessary biopsies.
“The public sector can cater for patients,” says Moshoka, “but the number of specialist to patient ratio is overwhelming. The urologist is still the primary healthcare giver and multidisciplinary teams are mandatory.”
Legendary marathon runner, Thulani Sibisi, was diagnosed with third-stage prostate cancer in 2012. He said he had noticed some of the symptoms but ignored them.
“You know when you are fit and you’ve been training most of your life, you don’t drink and you don’t smoke and you’ve been told that you have cancer ... you never think that it can happen to you,” he said.
“Don’t ignore those symptoms,” says Sibisi, who is an ambassador for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
“If I had been diagnosed earlier I wouldn’t have had to go through what I went through.”
A frequent need to urinate;
Painful or burning urination;
A weak or interrupted flow of urine;
Difficulty starting or stopping urination;
Difficulty in having an erection;
Painful ejaculation;
Blood in the urine or semen; and
Pain in the lower back, hips or upper thighs.
PSA tests are available at most Cansa care centres across the country and via Cansa’s mobile health clinics and Hollard’s MANVan.
#IAmAndIWill – You have the power to reduce the impact of cancer for yourself, the people you love and for the world. February 4 is World Cancer Day, and 2019 marks the launch of the three-year I Am and I Will campaign. I Am and I Will is an empowering call-to-action urging for personal commitment and represents the power of individual action taken now to impact the future.
