By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

AN estimated three to four men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each week in The Bahamas, while about two may die from the disease over the same period, according to urologist Dr Robin Roberts.

He added that only one in three men asked to return for further evaluation after screening actually attends follow-up clinics, even though more than 90 percent are contacted and told their results.

He also described prostate cancer as the most common cancer among men worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men.

Dr Roberts spoke during a press conference announcing ZERO Prostate Cancer’s September screening drive for men aged 40 to 70.

The group will offer PSA blood tests and digital rectal examinations free of charge, although participants are being asked to make a $20 donation. Dr Roberts said a PSA test alone costs approximately $80 in the private sector.

Men who receive abnormal findings through other screening programmes may also attend the organisation’s follow-up clinics.

The organisation, a support group of the Cancer Society of The Bahamas, was formerly known as Us TOO and has operated since 2004. Dr Roberts said it conducted more than 8,000 PSA blood tests involving over 3,000 men in New Providence in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the group sought to reduce disparities in access to prostate-cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Roberts said Oaktree Medical Center had processed the group’s PSA blood tests free of charge during the previous three years. He said Oaktree and Doctors Hospital also offered discounts of nearly 50 percent to men requiring prostate MRI scans, reducing the cost from approximately $1000 to $500.

The group’s work extends beyond initial screening, with participants contacted by telephone or email within three weeks and informed of their results. Men requiring further evaluation are invited to follow-up clinics at the Cancer Society, where urological consultations are provided free of charge.

Dr Roberts said prostate MRI imaging and repeat testing were arranged when indicated. He described MRI as the preferred diagnostic procedure for men suspected of having prostate cancer and said the imaging service was not available through public institutions.

“If prostate cancer is diagnosed, we guide them through treatment decisions and help secure the care that they need,” he said.

“For every clinic attendee diagnosed with prostate cancer, we encourage family consultations and help connect them with public or private services based on their needs and their preferences.”

Dr Roberts attributed men’s reluctance to seek medical attention partly to cultural attitudes about masculinity.

“Real men do not get sick. Real men do not get pain. Real men do not go to the doctor,” he said. “You see, and so they pay the price for that.”

He also identified limited awareness as a concern, warning that prostate cancer could develop without symptoms.

Dr Roberts said men of African descent were three to four times more likely to develop prostate cancer, tended to develop it at an earlier age and were more likely to experience an aggressive form of the disease.

He identified a high-fat diet and reduced physical activity as additional risk factors.

Dr Roberts said advances in medication had increasingly allowed doctors to manage advanced or metastatic prostate cancer—which has spread beyond the prostate—as a chronic disease.

“When we look at advanced prostate cancer, we're not talking about curing,” he said. “We're talking about controlling, and we can control the disease.”

He said detecting the disease early offered a greater prospect of long-term remission but cautioned against describing patients as cured because prostate cancer could recur years later.

“We know that even 10, 15, 20 years down the line, it can come back,” he said.

Prostate cancer survivor Valentine Maura said his experience , explaining that he was helping Us TOO with its testing initiatives when Dr Roberts pointed out that he had not been screened during the previous two years.

“I was feeling fine, I was feeling good, no, no symptoms or anything that I could identify would be prostate cancer,” he said.

Mr Maura said Dr Roberts examined him and he was subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer. He described the cancer as relatively new and non-aggressive and said he was offered either a prostatectomy or radiation treatment.

He chose radiation and said the Heart Center on Collins Avenue gave him a substantial discount because of his work promoting prostate-cancer awareness.

Mr Maura said he completed his final radiation treatment on November 15 2015.

“I'm walking around now as if nothing ever happened to me,” he said. “You don't have to have any symptoms, and don't wait for any symptoms.”