Chioma Obinna
11 November 2008
As the 2nd phase of the Lagos State Government's free prostate cancer screening programme took off last week, it was clear that the target of 750 men would be exeeded as more than 800 men had been screened by the 3rd day.
Men aged 50 and above were beneficiaries of the initiative to check one of the rising incidences of non-communicable disorders in the State.
Prostate cancer is a dangerous non communicable disease that endangers the lives of sufferers. Unfortunately, this debilitating illness does not give any warning signs until it has spread within the body.
Currently, not less than 14 million Nigerian men are affected. A hospital-based study at the Lagos University teaching Hospital (LUTH) in 2003 put incidence rate for prostate cancer in Nigerian men at approximately 127 of every 100,000 men.
There are also plans to carry out prostate biopsies on patients who actually require definitive diagnosis free of charge.
Prostate biopsy is a further test carried out on patient after effectively establishing the possibility of occurrence of prostate cancer with Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) and Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) measurement.
Declaring the week long screening open, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola said the screening was informed by the need to combat non communicable diseases in the state.
Fashola who alerted on the increase in the prevalence of the disease said it was the major reason why the state also embarked on the awareness creation and screening exercises for non-communicable diseases.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Aderemi Desalu Said of the estimated 33.4 million deaths worldwide due to NCDs in the year 2002, 72 percent occurred in developing countries.
The burden of NCDs is increasing rapidly in Africa and has become a major public health problem in the region. NCDs were estimated to cause 22 per cent of all deaths in Africa in 2002. From all indications, the problem has worsened considerably over time.
State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris who spoke through his Director of Disease Control, Dr. (Mrs.) Femi Taiwo noted that cancers occur when cells, which are the building blocks of the human body, undergo abnormal growth.
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