THE Jamaica Cancer Society has since the start of September, prostate cancer awareness month, screened 600 men for prostate cancer, matching the average number of men they have screened on an annual basis for the last three years.

While encouraged by the progress that has been made, executive director of the society, Yulit Gordon, is adamant that a false sense of security should not be engendered by the numbers.

“We got back some of the results from some of the tests that have been done for this month so far and of the 600 men that we have screened, 10 per cent have presented with abnormal results,” Gordon disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer. “When you look at this figure, it means that further investigation is now going to take place to confirm prostate cancer, and if it is contained within the prostate, if it is found outside the prostate, and to determine or to agree what is the most effective method of treatment.”

According to Gordon: “People still refer to it in the 21st century as the ‘big C’ and I will hasten to say there has been a lot of awareness created around prostate cancer, certainly in the last couple years, and I say this against the backdrop in terms of the responsiveness that we, the Jamaica Cancer Society, have experienced.”

The executive director told the Sunday Observer that hundreds of men turned up to be screened and to raise their level of awareness on prostate cancer awareness day as a part of the society’s efforts for prostate cancer awareness month.

“We want to say that while there has been a certain level of progress in terms of men’s responsiveness, we are still not comfortable because when we look at the bigger picture, our screening guidelines is between 40 years of age and 70 years of age… we are talking about over 200,000 men (at risk for the disease) and we are still screening below the 10 per cent margin.”

The society is therefore looking to reach out to men through partnerships.

“For this month we have the Jamaica National Foundation on board with us that is funding the free screening to 600 men islandwide. We cannot do this outside of having the Jamaica Urological Society as partners, because they provide the screening, they do the private consultation with the men, and also the digital rectal examination,” explained Gordon, adding that they have also partnered with the urologist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital to address the men outside of the Corporate Area.

About 350 of the 600 men, who have been screened so far, had their screening done for free while the others paid. Another 250 men are set to benefit from free screening in Montego Bay, St Elizabeth and St Ann before the month is out.

“The mission of the cancer society is primarily to bring early detection to our Jamaican men and to bring the public health messages as to how to minimise your risk for this disease,” Gordon told the Sunday Observer.

The society therefore has a clinic that is open from Monday to Friday, a mobile programme that involves reaching out to communities and different organisations, as well as an outreach programme which allows them to raise the level of awareness in underserved communities.