Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men. Statistics indicate that 1 in 9 men are affected. It is known as the silent killer because men typically are embarrassed about it and are reluctant to undergo prostate cancer screening yet early detection and treatment of this cancer has 100% 5 year survival rate.
It’s upon this background that the Movember prostate cancer awareness campaign has been launched by UMC Victoria hospital under the theme’’ Grow the Mo. Support a bro.
Speaking at the campaign launch, Dr. Jjuuko Edrin, the chief medical officer at UMC Victoria hospital has noted that one of the key driving factor for the Movember prostate cancer campaign it’s the fact that Black men are twice as likely to develop this cancer in their early 50’s and twice likely to die of the disease.
Movember is a month-long campaign to raise money and awareness for men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues. The annual Movember communication campaign encourages men to let their mustaches grow free throughout the month of November and to raise money for the cause.
This movement began in 2003 in Australia when a group of young people decided to let their mustaches grow out in support of one of their friend who was suffering from prostate cancer.
According to Dr. Jjuuko, the UMC Victoria Hospital is conducting free primary and secondary prostate cancer screening for males 40 years and above through the entire month of November.
To Further spread awareness on the prostate cancer, the Movember campaign will also feature a group jogging sessions for two Mondays of the month dubbed the ‘’#Movember Monday Run” to rally more men to take individual responsibility and get tested. The ‘’ Movember Monday Run” will be open to all interested parties, the ladies inclusive.
‘’The Ladies can play a major role in the agenda to encourage the men in their lives to go for the cancer screening’’. Dr. Jjuuko added.
Mr. Mathew Kabalega, a cancer awareness advocate who also spoke on the behalf of the campaign partners noted that prostate cancer is growing at a rate of 5.2% annually in men of 40years and above which represents a worrying trend. Therefore the campaign is a direly needed initiative as part of efforts to reduce and better manages the increasing prostate cancer burden in the country by advocating for early detection as widely as possible. He also urged other medical establishments private and public to join this much needed fight against prostate cancer and cancer in generally by contributing to and participating in the campaign.
Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms. More advanced prostate cancers sometimes cause symptoms, such as: Problems urinating, including a slow or weak urinary stream or the need to urinate more often, especially at night