One in six Mexicans are at risk of suffering prostate cancerso it is essential that from the 40 years go to one annual medical check-upespecially those with a family history of cancer, experts warned.
In Mexico, one in six men are at risk of suffering from this disease,” urologist and oncologist Iván Calvo Vázquez said in a statement on the occasion of the world day against prostate cancer, which is commemorated every June 11.
Prostate cancer is a public health problem as it is the leading cause of cancer death in men in the country.
In Mexicoeach year more than 25 thousand cases of prostate cancer are detected and more than 7,500 people lose their lives for this reason”, explained the head of the Department of Oncological Urology of the National Cancer Institute (INCan), Miguel Angel Jimenez Rios.
The specialist assured that seven out of 10 patients request medical attention in advanced stages of the disease, when there are few possibilities of cure, with the consequent deterioration of their quality of life and the health of the caregiver, as well as their economy.
In this context, Calvo Vázquez recalled that since 2019 the National Cancer Institute (INCan) offers the Opus program aimed at men over 40 years of age without social security, with the aim of reinforcing prevention, timely diagnosis and comprehensive care.
With this strategy, he said, it is possible to get more and more people to seek medical care in the early stages, provide innovative and multidisciplinary treatments that improve quality of life, as well as employ outreach and outreach strategies for promotion and education.
The specialist indicated that this program performs the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, examination to detect abnormalities of the prostate and, where appropriate, biopsy.
He recalled that although all men over 65 years of age can develop this neoplasm, those who have or had relatives with this disease are at greater risk, especially if they are first line, since the possibility is multiplied by eight.
It also increases the possibility that those who suffer from metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and obesity, or are sedentary, will develop the tumor.
Likewise, Calvo Vázquez released the results of a survey applied to 453 men, which reveals the reasons why men do not go for screening tests.
According to those surveyed, 70 percent said that they are not going to be tested for fear of being confirmed with the disease; 50 percent due to ignorance of the symptoms; 60 percent because they believe that it diminishes their masculinity and more than 22 percent because they believe that it can be cured with alternative medicine.
The specialist specified that at INCan these patients receive multidisciplinary treatment with specialized medical, nutritional, psychological care, cabinet studies, surgery, radiotherapy, pain control, bone health, rehabilitation, treatment for urinary and sexual symptoms, and prostheses.
With information from EFE