Stand by your man
Tulips launches prostate cancer awareness ‘Treadmill Challenge’
MARCH is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and the Help Those With Cancer Association (Tulips) is organising a “Treadmill Challenge” to coincide with it.
This is the third successive year that Tulips has had plans in place to hold events in support of prostate cancer awareness during the month of March.
However after two years of being thwarted by Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, they hope that this year will prove to be their “third time lucky”.
The idea of the Treadmill Challenge is to keep a treadmill constantly in motion for four hours at a time, with people walking on the treadmill for a short amount of time each, in a relay fashion.
There will be a total of six Treadmill Challenge events during March, the first of which will take place on March 1 at BRT’s Lefkoşa headquarters, with subsequent events taking place on March 5 at Zihni’s Lapta coastal path, on March 7 at Girne Municipality, on March 11 at Erdener Supermarket in Özanköy, on March 16 at Lefkoşa Turkish Municipality, and on March 23 at the TRNC Gymnastics Federation in Lefkoşa.
Attendees are encouraged to “wear something blue” as part of the challenge.
A Tulips statement, citing a BBC news article, said that prostate cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the world.
It added that numbers are increasing in North Cyprus, with age “the main risk factor for prostate cancer” which “explains why we have seen a sudden rise in cases within our expat community here in the TRNC”.
Tulips said prostate cancer is not commonly discussed, due to men
often being hesitant to screen for it or being unsure of what they need to know.
Seeking help and advice at an early stage aids early detection, and therefore gives the best possible chance of recovery.
However, early prostate cancer causes no symptoms, which increases the need for even healthy men to get screened regularly.
Other risk factors include a family history of prostate cancer, and a mother or a sister who has had breast cancer.
Tulips have produced a leaflet explaining who is at risk and some of the basic symptoms of prostate cancer such as frequent urination, straining to pass urine, weak flow, and a painful or burning sensation while urinating.
It is noted that conditions other than prostate cancer can produce the same symptoms, but the only way that one can be sure what is causing them is to visit a doctor and get tested.
Tulips spokesperson Sue Tilt said: “Learn all you can about your personal risk for prostate cancer and how to know if testing is right for you. Why bury your head in the sand and potentially self-endure heavy and costly treatment when early detection can reduce this and give you a huge chance of survival?”
On the question of what women can do about prostate cancer, Mrs Tilt said they should make sure men in their family “know the facts about the disease” and ensure men “talk with a doctor about the steps they can take to help reduce their risk of prostate cancer or find it early”.