Nanavati Hospital organises Free Prostate Screening Camp on Feb 16

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai, February 13, 2020 : One of the most common causes of cancer in Men—prostate cancer has witnessed a meteoric rise in India to become the third leading site of cancer in metros such as Mumbai and Bangalore. Given the rising prevalence of prostate cancer cases, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital (NSSH) will be organising a 'Prostate Camp,' on February 16.

Core objective of the camp is to create awareness about advantages of early screening and detection in people with primary prostate complications and improve survival rate of patients with prostate cancer. Various state cancer registries across India put the incidence rate of prostate cancer at 9-10/100000 population.

“Most of our patient to have undergone successful surgeries for prostate cancer had high early detection rate. This simply translates into one should not avoid primary symptoms of prostate cancer such as difficulty in passing urine, weak urine flow, frequent urination, blood in urine and family history of prostate cancer,” said Dr Vivek Venkat, Robotic Uro-Onco surgeon, NSSH.

Those who visit the camp can avail a free-of-cost Uroflowmetry test and expert’s consultation till noon.

The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland present only in males. It is a part of the genito-urinary system and is situated just below the bladder. Its role is to produce prostatic fluid which provides nutrition to the sperms. As a man ages, he starts facing issues with the prostate gland. The prostate disease will predominantly have 3 representations, BPH – Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Prostate cancer and Prostatitis (Inflammation of the prostate gland).

“With early detection, we can improve the treatment outcome in patients with radiation therapy or surgery. Through advanced robotic surgery, we achieve minimal blood loss, smaller cuts to the abdominal tissue, better vision of internal organs to a surgeon and lesser days of hospitalization. The chances of a patient surviving for more than 10 years are very high if Prostate cancer is treated at an early stage,” said Dr Sanjay Nabar, Head and Senior Consultant, Centre for Urology, NSSH.

According to a Study which captures the trends in the last three decades the estimated age-adjusted incidence rates (AARs) of prostate cancer in Mumbai registry was 6.3/100,000 in 1988. In 2003, there was a significant increase in the AAR in the registry to the tune of 7.2 per 100,000 people. Prostate cancer ranked eighth in its prevalence in Mumbai in 1988, whereas it ranked fourth in 2003 in the same registry. The trend, according to the experts, was alarming.

There is an urgent need to scale up screening to diagnose prostate cancer in early stage and cure the disease. All patients attending Urology OPDs or urinary complaints should undergo yearly PSA after 50 years and 40 years with a family history of prostate cancer.