Medical Practitioners Decry Lack Of Data On Prostate Cancer

Medical practitioners in Kogi State have lamented the over non-availability of data for people suffering from prostate cancer in Nigeria.

Speaking on the sidelines of the prostate cancer awareness month, a team of medical practitioners under the auspices of ‘Cancer of the Prostate

Trans-Atlantic Consortium (CAPTC) Federal Medical Center, (FMC) Site Lokoja’ submitted that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death among men in Nigeria.

The team lead of CAPTC site Lokoja, a consultant surgeon with the Federal Medical Center, Lokoja, Dr Taiwo Jones Olaoluwa, said it was very worrisome that there is no available statistics for people suffering from prostate cancer.

“We actually run a cancer registry here at the Federal Medical Center Lokoja. That is supposed to be something that will feed the central cancer registry in the federal ministry of health. But the number of patients presented to the hospital is the only one we have. We cannot feed in data without adequate diagnosis.

“So if a patient dies in a private hospital from suspected cancer of the prostate without you confirming it, you can’t label it as such. The only data we have is the one we are able to diagnose in FMC. And that is a big problem which should be looked into if we must reduce the death rate as a result of prostate cancer in Nigeria” he added.