00:00 Happy to be back on his scooter, 73-year-old Charles Oputa takes a ride around his home in Lagos.
00:08 Charlie Boy, as he is called, is well known in Nigeria's entertainment scene.
00:14 But in April this year, he revealed on social media his battle with prostate cancer.
00:20 At first I didn't know what was going on, what was happening.
00:27 My prostate cancer had entered my bladder and just taken over my bladder.
00:36 My, my, my, where my pee comes out from, you know, was almost closing.
00:45 And then because there was waste in my bladder, it started to get cancerous.
00:54 The next day I was in for surgery. There was no messing around about that.
01:01 And that was how I was saved.
01:03 Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death in older men in Nigeria.
01:08 But studies reveal many still know little about the disease.
01:13 And some 82% of men over the age of 40 have never been screened or tested.
01:19 I have a lot of prostate cancer, but I don't know which of the sex it affects.
01:26 Whether I'm male or female, I don't know. But I know cancer is a dangerous sickness.
01:32 Personally, I don't know. But of course I would like to know.
01:35 And at my age now, I know there's a high probability that I'll be having those issues.
01:42 But I would definitely like to cross-check and know.
01:45 But many wait for too long before getting their check-up, says Professor Odunayo Okwerowo,
01:52 a urologist at the Lagos University College of Medicine.
01:56 So that's a problem. And because of that, a lot of the patients, by the time they come,
02:02 it's already an advanced disease. They're already coming late.
02:05 So they're coming at a stage where treatment cannot be curative, you know.
02:11 So that's a big problem.
02:14 The economic realities in Nigeria can make prostate cancer treatment expensive.
02:20 But the issue of how treatment can affect sexual performance is also a sensitive topic for men.
02:28 Unfortunately, most of the treatment for prostate cancer will involve loss of erection.
02:36 So that's one of the major factors where people, even when they know they have prostate cancer,
02:43 they may not want to receive treatment or they just disappear.
02:46 They just need to be properly consulted that even though it affects your sexuality,
02:53 not everybody, but when it affects it, we have treatment for that as well.
02:59 But first, they must learn about the various treatments available to them.
03:04 And that is why Charlie Boy hopes that by going public with his prostate cancer,
03:08 he will help others like him speak about it and take action.
03:13 A lot of my friends, a lot of people that I know, you know, have passed on because of this problem.
03:27 And because they were avoiding, they were not even telling their wives,
03:32 those ones that are married, that is how bad.
03:36 And you know, the male ego is something else.
03:41 In May, a new law was passed in Nigeria making education about breast, cervical and prostate cancer compulsory in high schools.
03:50 But experts still want more to be done in the area of awareness.
03:55 And they advise men to begin prostate cancer screening from the age of 40 onwards.
04:00 awards.
04:00 - Thanks.
