Prostate cancer crusader and researcher, Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, has urged medical practitioners in Africa to do more research into prostate cancer.
“If the disease is within us, we have to find a solution to our problem,” he told Weekend Today in an interview in Accra.
Dr. Obu has done extensive works on prostate cancer in Ghana and Nigeria, making him a recipient of Nigeria Legend Award.
He was recently named in the maiden edition of the Ghana 40 Under 40 Achievers Award; an award initiated to honour and celebrate young entrepreneurs who have made great strides in various fields
He told Weekend Today that every man has a prostate, “but every prostate does not have to make every man miserable.”
He explained that the gland was the source of many grieves as men aged, but mentioned steps that can be taken to help it last for a lifetime.
“One thing I realised in the cause of my research was the causes of men’s prostate diseases and problems,” he said.
Explaining further, Dr. Obu said: “prostate can be seen as small gland but has huge repercussions on the quality of a man if gone wayward.
The glance, he maintained, was vulnerable to a number of diseases.
“Size definitely isn’t everything where prostate is concerned. The gland is hidden from sight just below the bladder, and just about the size of a walnut. But when it goes rogue, it can end a man’s life,” he said.
Asked if ageing was the cause of prostate, the prostate expert explained that it was only a correlation.
He said studies have shown that prostate diseases are not the natural state of men.
The argument that it only affects the elderly, he said, was untrue.
He revealed that the current check for prostate cancer was unreliable for population-wide screening.
“We need something better which will not only pick up early signs of the disease, but can also differentiate between tumours ‘tiger’ that can kill and the ‘pussycats’ which will never cause any harm to you,” he stated.
This, he said, will harness the synergistic power of Hibiscus Sabdarrifa, Azadirachta indica, Carica Papaya, Willowherb, Sawpalmetto, stingy nettle, Pumkin seed, neem tree and nimbolide.
Story: Kofi Owusu Tawiah