Kenya's silent killer: Why 96 per cent of men won't take the test that could save their lives
Kenya's leading male cancer killer claims five lives daily whilst screening stays taboo.
What you need to know:
- Only 4.4 per cent of Kenyan men undergo prostate cancer screening.
- Cultural barriers, masculinity pressures, and beliefs that symptoms are caused by witchcraft prevent men from seeking early screening.
When the world shut down in 2020, as Covid-19 closed skies and confined lives, Cyrus Kanja was facing a different kind of lockdown inside his body. He was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer.
Fortunately, he found a doctor in Kenya to walk with him through the journey.
“It had spread everywhere, into my ribs, into my lungs. It nearly broke my pelvic bone. But here I am now, in remission,” he says.
Cyrus’s cancer was detected late. The last time he had visited the hospital before his diagnosis was three years earlier, when doctors found nothing alarming. By the time symptoms appeared, the disease was already advanced.
Now, he goes for check-ups every two to three months without fail.
Yet he admits he understands why so many men avoid hospitals. “Men don’t like it,” he says bluntly.
“Even if they sit in the corner and cry their eyes out, they won’t go to the hospital. It’s the ego. Men want to be tough. You don’t want to accept that anything can bring you down.”
That reluctance is costing lives. In Kenya, only 4.4 per cent of men undergo prostate cancer screening. The result is late diagnosis, when the disease is harder, and more expensive, to treat.
Data from the World Health Organisation’s Global Cancer Observatory shows that of all cancers affecting men, prostate cancer is the leading killer. In 2022, it caused 2,029 deaths in Kenya, while 3,582 new cases were reported.
“Low screening uptake is a major concern,” says Dr Joan-Paula Bor, Acting Head of the National Cancer Control Programme.
She says the men visit the hospital with advanced disease, when the cancer has already spread.
She adds that the crisis is compounded by limited awareness of the disease and its risk factors, poor health-seeking behaviour driven by social and cultural barriers, the financial burden of accessing health care, and poor or limited geographical access in resource-constrained areas.
Late diagnosis
“Prostate cancer also tends to be more aggressive in men of African descent, she adds.
A study published last year in the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health on screening uptake among men in rural Kiambu County revealed multiple barriers, including low levels of education, negative attitudes towards screening, and cultural beliefs tied to masculinity and the fear of appearing weak.
It further indicates that such beliefs contribute to late diagnosis of prostate cancer and other non-communicable diseases. Notably, some men attribute symptoms to witchcraft or traditional taboos, prompting them to seek help from traditional healers rather than hospitals, delaying treatment until the disease has progressed.
The researchers recommend innovative approaches to break these barriers, including emphasising the benefits of early detection and encouraging men to see screening as a pathway to life rather than weakness.
