Former Labour Party (LP) presidential aspirant Prof Pat Utomi has revealed that his father died of cancer at the age of 52.
Utomi made the revelation on Wednesday at a webinar attended by cancer scientists, health system experts and other stakeholders to commemorate International Men’s Day.
According to him, “My father passed away of cancer at age 52, hence I was very sensitive and always did my annual medical checkups including prostate screening.
“At the onset of COVID-19, around 2020, my Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) was found to be elevated and I was asked to see a urologist and later had a direct rectal examination. The results now showed positive for prostate cancer.
“A disease is a disease. What is the difference between malaria and cancer? I had 45 sessions of radiotherapy, hormone treatment and other medications.
“Today, my PSA has dropped to a normal level. My hormone treatment will go on till next year.”
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Utomi added that there is a lot of ignorance about prostate cancer, wondering why enough has not been done to get men aware.
According to the 67-year-old, there are lots of men of his age who have problems with their prostate but they are hiding it and dying from it.
The professor noted that treating cancer is expensive in Nigeria, adding that there was need for public-private sector collaboration and investment.
Utomi went public about his struggle with cancer in a series of messages posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter in August.
He said he went quiet after the February 25 presidential election because his phone was taken away from him to reduce stress and manage his cancer better.
