JCS redoubles prostate cancer-screening efforts

PROSTATE CANCER is highly prevalent in the Jamaican population. It is the leading cancer and the leading cause of cancerrelated deaths. Advanced age, black race, family history, and dietary habits are significant risk factors for development of the disease.

For any cancer patient, early detection is critical to achieving a favourable outcome and could very well mean the difference between life and death. What’s more, early detection also leads to more affordable treatment options, which is particularly significant in the Jamaican society.

Given the prevalence of prostate cancer in the Jamaican population, the Jamaica Cancer Society’s recommendations are for annual screening commencing at age 40 years through to 75 years. Males presenting for screening will have a digital rectal examination (DRE) done by a urologist and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test done by the lab. Those who present with abnormal PSAs and DREs are recommended to have confirmatory transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsies. Widespread screening for prostate cancer has the potential to reduce the burden of metastatic disease and significantly reduce mortality of the disease. The Cancer Society provided screening to approximately 1,400 men in 2017, which fell below its target of 2,000 men. The majority of the men who presented for screening were over the age of 55 years which speaks to multiple barriers to prostate cancer screening.

The major barriers cited for poor screening compliance are fear, lack of awareness, lack of health insurance and low socio-economic status. Far too many men are afraid of the actual screening test, in particular the DRE, as well as fear of any side effects from surgery, in particular erectile dysfunction.

This year’s theme, ‘Men, The More You Know, The Less You Have To Fear’, is a call to action to face these fears and act.

The Jamaica Cancer Society will be staging several screening clinics along with public education presentations across the island and call on our male population, who are eligible for screening, to avail themselves of these opportunities.

We also call on the Government to establish national screening programmes, national public health education, and research activities to guide policy development to improve cancer care.

The Jamaica Cancer Society is grateful for the ongoing partnership with the Jamaican Urological Society to address this major public health issue, and we welcome Guardian Life and the National Commercial Bank as new partners in this month’s programme. We are also grateful for the collaboration with CyberKnife Centre of Miami and the support given to our training and development programme for members of the medical community. We say thanks to the National Health Fund for providing us with a grant to screen 200 underserved men across the island.

Thanks, too, to Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Apex Radiology for their ongoing support to our public education programmes. YULIT GORDON Executive Director Jamaica Cancer Society