That Prostate cancer is the commonest cause of cancer in men is no longer news especially in the developed world where there is accurate data on health and health related issues1-3. What is now news is the fact that most patients in West Africa and Nigeria in particular present late if not very late, with the attendant poor prognosis4 -6. In my own opinion this is because people seek alternative and unorthodox means of care for their health problems before finally coming to the hospital when these alternative cares have failed. Another aspect of late presentation that should be explored is the role of education and poverty. Are more educated and affluent Africans presenting earlier? The source of patient’s information also has to be explored. The explosion of FM stations in West Africa is very welcome but do we know the quality of information being provided on these FM stations? The internet is now becoming widely available in West Africa and hopefully may increase patient’s access to information on prostate diseases.
At the root of this lies the poor/conflicting/confusing knowledge and perception of our patients to prostate cancer and related diseases. I say confusing and conflicting because of the copious amount of supplements/herbs in the market both nationally and internationally with their strong financial muscle to do a lot of public relations and advertisement.
Herein lies our job as clinicians to find out the true knowledge base and perception of our patients with prostate cancer. Currently there are conflicting reports on the knowledge of our various populations on prostate cancer7,8,9. A true knowledge and perception of our patients on this burning health issue will help us know the gaps and then strategize on how to fill these gaps. As they say ‘’nature abhors a vacuum’’, If we don’t fill this gaps, some other people will.
It will also go a long way in unravelling the mystery, if any, behind the late presentation of our patients. We must also remember that as our cultures and believes vary so will the knowledge and perception of our patients vary and by extension when and how our patients present.
Thus the need for a well-structured, well designed and focus group discussion based knowledge and perception study in our region and sub region cannot be overemphasized.
References
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