By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Duayaw-Nkwanta (A/R), April 08, GNA – The Ultimate Women Foundation (UWF), a women centred non-governmental organisation, has asked medical researchers, health experts and civil society actors to help advance and deepen men’s knowledge and understanding of prostate cancer.
According to the Foundation, when men understood prostate cancer, it would greatly help them to protect themselves, detect and facilitate treatment as well.
The UWF said it sought to encourage and motivate Indigenous and vulnerable women and girls to know their worth and to empower and well-position them to contribute to the development of their communities and the larger society.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Duayaw-Nkwanta in the Ahafo Region, Dr. Freda Prempeh, the Founder of the UWF, reiterated the need for the country to invest hugely in research about the disease.
She said though most men diagnosed with prostate cancer might live longer, challenges remain in choosing the best treatments for them at all stages of the disease.
Dr. Prempeh, also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North Constituency and a Minister of State in-charge of Works and Housing, said the incidence of prostate cancer was increasing, and was among the most diagnosed cancers among men in the country.
“Despite the increasing trend of prostate cancers in the country there is paucity of research on the disease,” she said, and expressed worry that public awareness and knowledge about its prevention remained low in the country.
Dr Prempeh said because prostate cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the country, the disease posed a public health threat, hence the need to scale up awareness creation, as well as deepen men’s knowledge and attitudes toward early detection.
“In fact, everything that affects men affects women indirectly, and because prostate cancer is highly curable, as women’s Foundation we must also contribute to help control prostate cancer among men, which is highly curable,” the MP indicated.