BUJUMBURA, August 2nd (ABP) – Out of 103 patients screened for prostate cancer, 56, including one who was operated on this week at Kira Hospital, already had more advanced signs of this disease, the Director General of that hospital, Dr. Canesius Havyarimana, told the press during an interview on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, on the sidelines of an exchange session with various doctors on prostate cancer.
According to Dr. Havyarimana, this exchange session, held as part of the week dedicated to prostate cancer, was organized with the aim of raising awareness among the people of Burundi, especially men over 50, to screen for prostate cancer. This cancer is very common in Africa and evolves little by little, he stressed, specifying that when the signs appear, patients do not recover.
This cancer is a disease that develops from initially normal prostate cells. These cells transform and multiply, in an anarchic manner, until they form a mass called a “malignant tumor”.

Pelvic pain, difficulty urinating, frequent and painful urination, as well as painful ejaculation are some of the symptoms of this type of cancer, according to Dr. Havyarimana, who called on all Burundian men to get screened if they see these symptoms in order to treat them immediately because, he said, prostate cancer can be cured by surgery.
He took this opportunity to ask the Ministry in charge of Public Health to sensitize all Burundians to get screened for this cancer before the signs appear.
During the discussions, the Director General of Health Care and Accreditation at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Oscar Ntihabose, said that the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS commends the efforts of the private sector in the health sector. The government of Burundi, through the said ministry, will spare no effort to support the private sector, he said. He thus made an appeal to all Burundian men over 50 years old, who have symptoms of this cancer, to consult the doctors at Kira Hospital.