“In our country about 10 million Italians are at risk of urological problems. Prostate cancer records 36,000 new cases and 7,000 deaths every year, bladder cancer 100,000 new diagnoses and 6,000 deaths every 12 months. This is followed by kidney cancer, and then testicular cancer that affects young people between 18 and 40 years of age. And again: erectile dysfunction, incontinence and infertility problems and interstitial cystitis in women. Pathologies for which prevention is very important. Unlike women, many men avoid having to undergo checks, tests and visits. They are afraid of discovering that they have a disease, so they do not do prevention also because of Covid “. To sound the alarm is directly Vincenzo Mirone, full professor of Urology at the “Federico II” University of Naples and head of the communication office of the Italian Society of Urology (Siu), on the occasion of the second National day of urologywhich is celebrated today, and which, not surprisingly, focuses on information and prevention.
“Today Siu is supported by 11 patient associations that cover the entire spectrum of diseases related to urological, intimate and sexual well-being – says Mirone -. Objective: raise awareness of the importance of the urologist to prevent and treat very serious diseases, both male and female. In our departments, in total 350 university, hospital and private urological centers present throughout the national territory, we will dedicate the whole day to information, without which there is no prevention “.
National Urology Day for Antonio Rizzotto, president of Siu, is “an opportunity to sign a pact between urologists and patients, through information and knowledge. Many people – underlines Rizzotto – do not know what urology is, they think that urological disorders do not affect women and ignore fundamental alarm bells, such as blood in the urine because ‘then everything is back to normal’. Mistake not to make “.
Men, unlike women, neglect symptoms and signs, “they are more afraid, they prefer not to know and for this reason they do not make prevention or early diagnosis – adds Rizzotto – But it is good that they know that late diagnosis of bladder or prostate cancer can cause postoperative side effects, such as impotence and incontinence, absolutely avoidable with an early diagnosis. Here, information is essential to raise public awareness on these issues “.
On this occasion, all citizens will have a toll-free number for free consultations, advice and information on the nearest centers, always active (800.189441), even if the first phase of the service will be dedicated exclusively to refugees from Ukraine staying in Italy. A whole new section of the Siu website has also been activated.
“Men over 50 should have an annual check-up in addition to the PSA test,” he recommends Giuseppe Carrieri, secretary of Siu and pro-rector of the University of Foggia – from the age of 45, on the other hand, if in the family they have had cases of bladder, prostate rather than testicular cancer. Prevention means intercepting the disease at an early stage, a good thing for the patient who anticipates treatment, and for our NHS because it avoids clogging up the hospitals. “The secretary of Siu also worries the long waiting lists: “In some hospitals, it takes up to 3 years for an operation for a non-tumor pathology and several months for oncological diseases. Unacceptable, as unacceptable is the fact that treatment for urinary incontinence is entirely the responsibility of the patient. Result? Many people with this disorder give up on therapies “.
Finally, Carrieri’s appeal to young people: “They must have faith in the urologist. Without prevention they can find themselves facing a monster, such as testicular cancer, the fourth most common cancer among the over 40s. With periodic, non-obsessive self-examination, anomalies such as nodules can occur, it is possible to anticipate the onset of metastases by many months. Without prevention, however, they undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We must do everything to avoid it, “he concludes.