Bhubaneswar: Around 150 senior citizens, Wednesday, took part in an awareness rally to create awareness on prostate diseases and prostate cancer. The senior citizens tried to trigger debate among their peers on the issue.
The event was organised to bring the elderly people together to talk on the issue openly and know more about the treatment available for the disease and ways to manage and mitigate the disease. The walkathon was organised by BR Kalinga Hospital to mark their opening of a prostate cancer clinic. The doctors advised the elderly people to keep a tab on the onset of prostate cancer to improve their survival chances.
Dr Biswajit Nanda, urologist and kidney transplant surgeon said, “Since the symptoms remain undetected at an early stage, it is important for people above the age of 50 years to get screened for prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a slow-growing cancer and usually patients do not experience specific symptoms until the cancer reaches an advanced stage”
Prostate cancer is one of the leading cancers in India. It usually affects men in the age group of 65+ years and less than 1% of cases are in men under 50 years. Men with a family history of prostate cancer are more likely to have it. Old age, obesity, improper diet, and genetic alterations have been identified as some of the main contributing factors towards an increased cause of prostate cancer.