November Blue: month of prevention and awareness of human health

Even with prostate cancer prevention and warning campaigns, many men over the age of 45 do not seek to follow recommendations and perform preventive tests. That is why the month of November is a month dedicated to strengthening the importance of men's health care, not only related to cancer, but to general care.

Launched in 2008 by the Instituto Lado in Lado pela Vida, the Blue November campaign aims to prevent and raise public awareness of prostate cancer and to bring men closer to health services.

To diagnose cancer, examination of the prostate is indicated. In general, it should be practiced on men over 50 years old. But urologist Humberto Teruo Eto points out that people with a first-degree relative with prostate cancer, of African descent and obesity, should start the test sooner, at age 45, because they are more likely to contract the disease.

There is also a correlation between prostate cancer and lifestyle. "Everything that is good for the heart, we play, works well for the prostate, food with less fats and fries, which can increase cholesterol, physical activity, no smoking, it helps." he notices.

In order to contribute to the diagnosis, it is also recommended to carry out the blood test of PSA, a specific antigen of the prostate. Performing routine tests to see if all is well is a way to prevent and identify possible cancer. The recommendation is that men begin to think about prevention not just for the disease, but to take care of health as a whole.

According to the doctor, the awareness by men of the importance of tactile examination is quite slow. "Man in general does not spontaneously seek preventive consultation, those who do it are in the minority.Most of these tasks are accomplished by the insistence of women sensitized to the prevention of breast cancer or cervical cancer. Uterus For the woman, it is more natural For men, as prevention is needed at a later age, it is difficult to convince, but we try to change this mentality.It will still take time. "

"It's progressive." One thing that influences prevention is to see that the incidence of the disease is high, to see that an acquaintance, a neighbor had it, eventually gets the person to seek prevention, "he says.

There are still prejudices regarding the prostate exam, which is simple and painless. Eto says that many patients, after being examined, ask "is that it?" "It has been created a fantasy that is a difficult test and that will" disrupt "sexuality in one way or another.We know that it has no basis," he says. .

treatments
The indication of the best treatment recommended to the patient depends on factors such as health status, life expectancy and the aggressiveness of the disease. The less aggressive cases of prostate cancer do not require treatment or surgery, but are only followed up until progress is made.

When treatment is needed, a radio and chemotherapy are usually administered. According to the urologist, there are modern radiation therapy techniques that focus on the affected area, reducing the incidence of the dose in the surrounding areas.

"The surgery has evolved a lot, even open surgery, which until a few years was the main one.With the new techniques, you can preserve the nervous bundles that previously were not even known for their importance in incontinence and power. In addition, Eto points out that there are new ways to access prostate-removal surgery, such as robotic surgery.

The prostate, located just under the bladder and in front of the rectum, is a small organ that only men possess. This is the initial part of the urethra, which is the channel through which urine is eliminated. The prostate also produces some of the sperm.

Prostate cancer is the second most common type in men, behind non-melanoma skin cancer. It is also the fourth most common type when you consider both sexes. It is considered a "senior cancer" because about 75% of cases occur from the age of 65.

In Brazil, the estimate of the National Cancer Institute (INCA) is 68,220 new cases in 2018. The increase in incidence in the country, also according to CNIB, may be justified by the evolution of diagnoses, the improvement of the quality of information systems and increase in life expectancy.

Some of the tumors can grow quickly and spread to other organs and cause death. However, in most cases, the tumor grows slowly: it takes about 15 years to reach 1 cm³ and, in its initial phase, the cancer usually does not show any symptoms.

When signs begin to appear, tumors are usually in an advanced stage, making healing difficult. The main symptoms are bone pain, painful urination, frequent urination, blood in the urine or sperm.