C-Care, Uganda’s largest private healthcare network, has joined the rest of the world to raise men’s health awareness, with special attention to prostate cancer.
C-Care kicked off Movember, the men’s health awareness month, by providing discounted prostate cancer screening in all their clinics countrywide.
In solidarity with men globally, the C-Care male staff were encouraged to grow moustaches and participate in the different activities aimed at promoting male physical health, throughout the month of November.
The C-Care staff concluded the awareness campaign with a Cowboy Friday Celebration at C-Care IHK Kampala, which was presided over by the General Manager, Dr Miriam Mutero.
In her remarks, Dr. Mutero said, “There was a time when it was near to impossible for a person to access quality medical information or care in most parts of the country, but thankfully, we now have accessible, affordable expert medical personnel at our disposal, across the country, thanks to C-Care.”
Dr. Mutero encouraged men to be vigilant in taking care of their overall health, with particular attention to the mental, physical and general wellness. He also urged them to go for regular medical checkups in order to ensure good health and reduce risks of late disease detection, specially cancers.
She said, “A body that is well taken care of ensures full capacity productivity for men. Doctors recommend regular checkups in most cases because some of these diseases show no signs or symptoms in their early stages and sometimes these symptoms show when it’s too late.”
Sheila Aboth, the Marketing and Communications Manager, C-Care Uganda, applauded the hospital move in promoting men’s health and shining a light on prostate and testicular cancer.
Aboth said, “We believe that men’s well- being should be given an equal voice to that given women health issues, which tend to always take center stage. Such activities level the ground and shine a light on men’s well-being for a change.”
Prostate cancer occurs in the prostate which is a small gland in males shaped like a walnut that produces the seminal fluid that helps in transportation of sperm. This cancer happens to be very common and exists in different types some develop very slowly while others grow aggressively and so quickly.
Research by World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that the risk of getting prostate cancer increases with age. The commonest cases reported are usually after the age of 50 but also the black people have the greater risk of having it aggressive and more advanced. Just like many of the other cancers, family history plays a big determinant role for this cancer as well and the other factor that people may also not be aware of is that having history of breast cancer in your family may need one to also consider checking for prostate cancer among the males and then there is obesity which also may bring about the disease in the long run.
The good news is that it can be prevented if one takes the right measures and even if one has it, if detected early, the survival rates are really high. The risk can be reduced by eating healthy, emphasizing on vegetables and fruits and regular exercises to maintain a healthy weight.
