The campaign will have several awareness lectures and workshops aimed at various sectors in the country. They highlight the most important symptoms and factors which increase the likelihood of the prostate cancer as well as methods of prevention and cure.
Prostate cancer risk factors are age - the chance of having prostate cancer rises rapidly after age 50; family history - having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man’s risk of developing this disease; diet- men who eat a lot of red meat or high-fat dairy products and fewer fruits and vegetables appear to have a slightly higher chance of getting prostate cancer.
According to Dr. Hadi Mohamad Abu Rasheed, health educator at QCS, other factors that lead to prostate cancer are obesity, smoking and chemical exposures. Obese men have a higher risk of getting more advanced and serious prostate cancer. Smoking has been linked to increased risk of dying from prostate cancer. Chemical exposures at workplace such as among firefighters may increase their risk of prostate cancer. Inflammation of the prostate’ gland is also linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer.
"Early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms," cautioned Dr Abu Rasheed. More advanced prostate cancers sometimes cause symptoms. In most cases, symptoms are caused by benign prostatic enlargement, or an infection. It is important that the people regularly consult a doctor to understand what causes the symptoms.
Warning signs of infection with prostate cancer are problems urinating, including a weak or interrupted urinary flow, pain while urinating, inability to urinate, sense of incomplete emptying the bladder, intense need to urinate, or the need to urinate more often, especially at night.
Other signs are blood in the urine or semen, erection problems, pain in the hips, back chest, or other areas from cancer that has spread to bones, weakness or numbness in the legs or feet, or even loss of bladder or bowel control from cancer pressing on the spinal cord and nerves.
Prostate cancer can often be detected early by testing for prostate-specific antigen levels in a man’s blood or the physical examination of the prostate gland. It is recommended that men have to discuss with their doctor for screening for prostate cancer especially after 50.
QCS logo for prostate cancer
Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) has launched a campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer, the second most common cancer among men in Qatar, and the fifth most cancer causing death in men globally.
