Prostate Cancer Is A Verb In Black Men And A Noun In White Men!

I akin prostate cancer in black men to a verb; because it is a doing or action word in this group of people. Like love, I always say, love is a verb and not a noun-it is an action word .Though we know that prostate cancer can be group into slow growing type and the aggressive type and most men diagnosed with prostate cancer died from other cause and not from the cancer, we also know that the cancer is more aggressive in black men than men of other race. Black men have 60% chances of getting prostate cancer and 3 times of dying from prostate cancer.

According to studies Prostate cancer is more aggressive in black men than men of other race with poor survival rates in the black communities. So with my extensive research on the subject I concluded that prostate cancer is a verb partly because it is a doing word whilst I likened it to a noun in white men, because it only just a name in white men as the cancer is a slow growing type and this men can live with it without seeking for aggressive treatment, but it is a different ball game with black men. There is biochemical difference, for instance, vitamin D protects against prostate cancer and it recurrence, but black men have low vitamin D level because of our color. The darker your color, the lower your vitamin D level, and its protection against prostate cancer. So men with low vitamin D level you must beware as it can predispose you to prostate cancer. So now apart from the PSA and ultrasound, I request vitamin D test for men and I believe it should be part of black men screening program for prostate cancer. If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, please also monitor your vitamin D level to prevent recurrence.

The long term survival rates also depend upon where men live. Numerous factors account for the long term survival rates of prostate cancer. In Ghana about 70% of the population relies on herbal medicines in the hope of curing the cancer and most of the herbal practitioners also promise cure rates for prostate cancer using the media for advertisements of their theoretical cure with no scientific evidence backing their claims. The media also accounts for the high mortality rates in the country. Out of the 1,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer yearly, close to about 800 died yearly.

Wrong treatment information regarding prostate cancer treatment men also received accounts for this, lack of urologist and conventional cancer centers, social economic factors and lack of government will power and insurance accounts for the high incidence rates in the country. The quality of treatment and care Ghanaian men received varies greatly from men of other race. Fear of Ghanaian men losing their sex life after prostate cancer treatment and bias is also another contributing factor. For instance a study in Ghana favors radiotherapy Yamoah et al 2013. A surgeon recommends surgery, Traditional herbal practitioners also favors traditional medicine in Ghana.

A 2000 study by Robbins et al reported that after diagnosis with prostate cancer, Black men in the United States have poorer survival than White men, even after controlling for differences in cancer stage. The extent to which these racial survival differences are due to biologic versus non-biologic factors is unclear, and it has been hypothesized that differences associated with socioeconomic status (SES) might account for much of the observed survival difference.

A 2003 study also by Girvan et al also evaluated the effects of socioeconomic status and comorbidity on stage of disease and survival among 1,509 population-based prostate cancer patients. Their findings support the need for further investigation of factors that affect access to and use of health care among African Americans and Asian Americans.

Another study in 2004 by Freeman et al evaluated the effect of comorbidity at diagnosis on racial differences in survival among men with prostate cancer.

The authors used Clinical and demographic data were abstracted from records of 864 patients diagnosed at 4 Chicago area hospitals between 1986 and 1990. They reported in their results that Blacks had significantly greater mortality from prostate cancer and other causes).

They concluded that absence of a significant preexisting medical diagnosis is associated with a higher risk for excess mortality among Black men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

A 2005 study also by Peters N and Armstrong K review of racial differences in prostate cancer treatment outcomes. Observed no significant difference in treatment outcomes between races. Most studies investigating racial differences in prostate cancer treatment outcomes over the past 10 years found no difference between races after controlling for tumor and patient characteristics. Efforts to narrow the gap between black and white prostate cancer mortality should focus on ensuring that all patients receive optimal treatment and that all patients become informed about the use of screening for early cancer detection. Research should focus on interventions to reduce advanced presentation of the disease and disease-related mortality among black men they concluded

Another 2008 study conducted by Evans et al for articles that reported ethnic differences in overall-survival, prostate cancer specific survival (PSS) or biochemical recurrence. The authors reported that only 48 articles met the inclusion criteria. Black men had worse overall survival . They concluded that Black men had a poorer prognosis which was not fully explained by comorbidity, PSA screening, or access to free health care, although few studies measure these factors well. Either management differences for local disease and/or biological differences may be behind Black-White differences in prostate cancer prognosis.

My Key Points.

1. So as I mentioned, prostate cancer is more aggressive in black men
2. I call prostate cancer a verb in black men and a noun in white men
3. Be proactive when diagnosed with prostate cancer
4. Check your vitamin D level as it fights against prostate cancer
5. Seek for the right treatment if diagnosed with prostate cancer
6. There is currently no evidence of using herbal medicine to cure prostate cancer

Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu is a registered alternative medical practitioner who specializes in Prostate cancer and studied the Masters program in prostate cancer –Sheffield Hallam University, UK and a PhD candidate in prostate cancer, Indian Board of Alternative Medicines Academy, Kolkata, India and the founder of Men’s Health Foundation Ghana and De Men’s clinic and Prostate Research Lab in Dodowa, Akoto House. Tel: 0500106570