How to detect penile cancer in men wey don make doctors cut 6,500 men own for Brazil

For 2018, Brazilian pensioner João bin go hospital to find out wetin dey do am afta e find wart for im preek.

Di 63 year old remember say, "I start to dey go medical clinics dem to find out wetin e be, but di doctors say na excess skin cause am, and come give me medicine."

But even wit di medication, di art kontinu to dey grow sotay e start to dey affect João marriage and start to dey reduce di number of times e dey nack im wife.

E admit say, "we turn like broda and sister". E come get am for mind say e must to know wetin dey happun.

For five years na so e bin dey waka for specialist wey go give am medicine and order biopsies but noting happun.

Den, for 2023, e come get diagnosis - João bin get penile cancer.

E say, "for my family, e shock us mostly becos I bin need to cut part of di penis. No be di kain cancer wey you fit follow pipo tok bicos dem fit take am turn joke."

Penile cancer dey rare but di cases and amount of pipo e dey kill don dey rise worldwide.

'To do surgery fear me'

According to di latest studies, Brazil wey João come from, get one of di highest rates of penile cancer wit 2.1 per 100,000 men.

Between 2012 and 2022, Brazil Ministry of Health say dem don get report of 21,000 cases.

Dis don cause 4,000 deaths and in di past ten years, dem don do over 6,500 amputations wey mean about one evri two days.

Di highest rates for world na from di poorest state for Brazil wey dem dey call Maranhão wey get incidence rates of 6.1 per 100,000 men.

Wen dem find am on time, di chance of recovery dey hight wit treatments wey include surgery to comot di lesion, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

But if dem no treat am, e fit become necessary to cut comot part of all of di penis even add oda genital organs like di testicles join.

João do partial amputation for January and say e bin dey hard.

E say, "I bin fear di surgery but I no get choice. Di feeling for di first weeks afta di surgery na sadness, I no fit lie give you. To no get part of your penis dey horrible."

Some patients dey do total amputation wey dey life changing.

Thiago Camelo Mourão, from di Department of Urology for AC Camargo Cancer Center for Sao Paulo say "for partial amputation, piss go still dey comot from di pesin but for total amputation, di urethral orifice fit dey relocated to di perineum wey dey between di scrotum and di anus so di man go need to sidon if dem wan piss."

According to sabi pipo, many risk factors dey linked wit penile cancer include tight foreskin and smoking.

Mauricio Dener Cordeiro, from di Brazilian Society of Urology say personal hygiene sef get hand inside.

"Wen man no expose di glans and no clean dia foreskin well-well, e dey make secretion wey go just dey dia dey full. Na wetin dey create meta environment for bacterial infections wey if e occur repeatedly, e fit turn to risk factor so di appearance of di tumour."

Cordeiro add say constant infections of HPV na "one of di risk factors". In some cases sef, HPV fit cause mouth and penile cancers.

E say "Mass vaccination against HPV dey important to prevent related lesions.

For Brazil even though di HPV vaccines full ground, di rate wey pipo dey take am dey low, for girls e reach 57% and for boys e no dey pass 40%. To work well-well, di beta coverage suppose be 90% ".

E tink say na misinformation about di vaccine and doubt say e dey work plus lack of vaccination campaigns don contribute to di low rate wey dem dey take am.

But no be only for Brazil. According to di recent penile cancer research, di number of cases don dey rise worldwide.

For 2022, di JMIR Public Health and Surveillance journal publish di results of one ogbonge analysis wia dem get data from 43 kontris.

Dem find say di highest rates of penile cancer between 2008 and 2012 na for Uganda (2.2 per 100,000), followed by Brazil (2.1 per 100,000) and Thailand (1.4 per 100,000). Di lowest na for Kuwait (0.1 per 100,000).

Di numbers only fit increase according to di Global Cancer Registries prediction tool. E estimate say by 2050, di global incidence of penile cancer go rise by ova 77%.

Sabi pipo say dis change fit be sake of aging population as dem say di highest rate of di cancer dey come from men wey dey in dia 60s.

Cordeiro say, "Penile cancer na rare disease but also dey very preventable. E dey important say make men of all ages wash dia penis wit soap and water everi day and afta dem knack."

E also advise say to use condoms during knacks and to comot di foreskins wen e dey tight for di fit help to reduce di risk of penile cancer.

João dey currently wait for im latest test results wey im go collect later dis year. E say, "I get faith say e go show say I go dey cured. Now wit di amputation, di pain don go and I dey feel better. But I go need face di fact say dem partially cut am for di rest of my life."

Cancer Research UK say ova 90% of men wey dem diagnose wit penile cancer, wey neva spread enta di nearby lymph nodes, dey survive pass five years sef.

*Additional reporting by Rone Carvalho, BBC Brasil