ARUSHA men with ages above 40 have turned out in big numbers for prostate cancer screening.
Speaking here midweek, an urologist with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), Dr Orgeness Mbwambo, attributed their number of men who turned out for two-day free diagnosis to how serious the disease was among men.
“It is no longer as secret that men, albeit discreetly are grappling with the disease and this is now compelling them to come out to check their status,” said Dr Mbwambo.
The urologist further noted that the presence of the disease among men of 40 years and above was alarming, with many adult men going for diagnosis.
According to Dr Mbwambo, prostate cancer was the second most commonly occurring cancer in men and the fourth most common cancer overall.
There were more than 1.4 million new cases of prostate cancer in 2020, he said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data published in 2020 prostate cancer deaths in Tanzania reached 1,819 which is equivalent to 0.62 per cent total deaths.
The age adjusted death rate is 29.39 per 100,000 of population ranks Tanzania at position 30 in the world.
“Prostate cancer often has no symptoms until the disease is advanced, and screening may help detect cancer early, which is why we’ve opted to set up such a clinic,” explained Dr Mbwambo.
Mr Akimu Mwanjala, a resident of Arusha city who also had went for a prostate cancer diagnosis at Kaloleni Health Center lauded KCMC’s move saying it will enable him keep tabs with the killer disease.
“Unfortunately some men continue to suffer in silence, I’d recommend them to make the most of such free screenings,” Mr Mwanjala urged.
For reasons that remain unclear, men of African origin have the highest rate of incidence for prostate cancer in the world.
For example, the incidence of prostate cancer in African Americans is almost 60 per cent higher, and the mortality rate is two- to three-times greater than that of Caucasian American men.
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