Prostate cancer awareness drive urges men to talk to their GP

This month is Blue September, designated to promoting awareness of prostate cancer and raising funds for Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand. The team at Property Brokers (Gisborne) are doing push-ups in their fundraising campaign. Participants are (back row, from left) Shane Murrell, Vicki Coley, Nicky Loftus, Penny Pardoe, Elaine Katene (front), Roger Faber and Tom Lane.

One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, but with early detection it can often be treated successfully.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month during which health professionals are promoting awareness and members of the community are taking part in the Blue September fundraiser for the Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand.

The advice from Gisborne-East Cancer Society is straightforward.

“This month let’s have open chats with loved ones and encourage them to get checked if they have symptoms,” a spokeswoman said.

“A simple conversation with your GP could make all the difference.”

The prostate is a male sex gland located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. Along with the testicles and seminal vesicles, it is part of the male reproductive system. It surrounds the urethra - the tube that carries urine and semen out of the body through the penis.

Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ says prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer (skin cancer is the first) in New Zealand. More than 4000 men are diagnosed annually with the disease and over 700 die.

It is the second highest cause of cancer death in men behind lung cancer and, for all sexes, it sits third behind lung and bowel cancers.

Māori men have a slightly lower incidence of prostate cancer, but have a higher death rate than other New Zealand men.

The reasons for this may be a later diagnosis or treatment choices offered to them.

The number of men diagnosed in New Zealand is increasing, mainly because of increased rates of testing, and the death rate is slowly dropping, mainly because of better outcomes from early diagnosis and improved treatments.

Men are more likely to develop prostate cancer as they get older. It is also more common in men who have a father or brother with prostate cancer and in families who carry certain genes.

Prostate cancer can develop silently and remain undetected for some time, without causing symptoms.

If symptoms are present, they may include the following (note, many are common in men as they age, often caused by other prostate conditions such as an enlarged prostate):

• Feeling the frequent or sudden need to urinate, especially at night.
• Finding it difficult to urinate (e.g. trouble starting or not being able to urinate when the feeling is there).
• Discomfort when urinating.
• Finding blood in urine or semen (never ignore this).
• Pain in lower back, upper thighs or hips.
• Bone pain.
• Unexpected weight loss.

Property Brokers Gisborne is among the Tairāwhiti Gisborne participants in the nationwide Blue September fundraiser.

Rural sales property consultant Tom Lane says the company has for a long time backed agencies working to support cancer patients and their families, including Gisborne East Coast Cancer Society, the Relay for Life fundraising event and Breast Cancer NZ.

The eight Blue September participants at Property Brokers are each aiming to perform at least 739 push-ups – one for each of the average number of prostate deaths in New Zealand each year, but Lane is aiming higher.

“I’ve pushed the boat out to do 3000, just for a personal challenge.”

As of Friday, he had done 1075.

Lane said Shane (Murrell) was also “pumping out the numbers” while the women in the team were “going well”.

The team will also be holding a fundraising barbecue on company premises on September 30.