This Thursday, February 9th, the Braga Youth Centre (CJB) was, once again, the stage for one of the sessions of the initiative "Treat Cancer (prostate) by You", this time subordinated to prostate cancer.

One year and six days after the first edition of the event “Treating Cancer by You” in Braga, the CJB once again received specialists in the field of cancer. This Thursday, February 9th, was marked by the presence of the renowned pathologist Manuel Sobrinho Simões, the specialist in Molecular Genetics José Carlos Machado and the researcher José Manuel Lopes, both from the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, and from the researcher at the Institute for Research in Life and Health Sciences at the University of Minho, Estevão Lima.

Moderated by the journalists Tiago Alves and Miguel Soares, from Antena 1, the different specialists explored the importance of early diagnosis and placing patients at the center of the discussion. The ability to communicate was, in fact, one of the first topics to be addressed, with a presentation video as the motto, where the population confessed to being partially or totally unaware of the reality of prostate cancer.

While some stated that prostate cancer is little talked about and that there is insufficient information about it, others believe that there is only a lack of interest in the subject and that knowledge exists, however, technical terms prevent it from reaching the general public.

Having said that, Manuel Sobrinho Simões underlined that “we have two problems in Portugal - communicating and talking!”, namely with regard to health literacy. He believes that, at the center of the obstacle are the professionals - "people ask intelligent questions, we are the ones who are bad at explaining". Asked about how to improve communication in health, he did not fail to emphasize the importance of the means of communication in the process. However, he believes that learning comes mainly from good examples within the family and society.

Throughout the conversation, the specialists also underlined that technological evolution allows, today, that some of the fears - namely erectile and sexual dysfunctions - surrounding the treatment of prostate cancer can be diluted.

Estevão Lima took the opportunity to warn the population that “not all prostate cancers are treated surgically, not all prostate cancers require aggressive treatment”. For indolent cancers, only active surveillance may be recommended. In this context, Estevão Lima underlined the importance of timely screening.

José Manuel Lopes added that prostate cancer is one of the most common male cancers, but “the fourth cancer that kills men the most, excluding cancers that occur in the skin”. He also stated that prostate cancer is found in ⅔ of autopsied men. In any case, these “died with their cancer and not because of their cancer”. Thus, he considers that the most important thing is to be able to classify the cancer and, in this way, to understand whether it is not necessary to carry out treatments, whether to proceed with active procedures or with the various alternative treatments.

With regard to timely screenings - "those that are done because they are available and not because there is no formal indication", he said they are being done, from 50 / 55 years old. He also informed that familial cancers should be seen with more importance and should be followed earlier.

In addition, he highlighted that screening received a lot of criticism, “because there was more damage in terms of social group”. The truth is that it stopped and “the incidence skyrocketed”. Late discovery led to the finding of cancers in more aggressive stages. “The current trend is to try to gain knowledge, evidence that will show us which is the most appropriate cut-off point, to advise a sequence of procedures that leads to the diagnosis of cancer”, he said.

Hand in hand with technological developments, scientific developments today make it possible to carry out molecular analyses, a “transversal form of detection”, pointed out José Carlos Machado. It is hoped that “molecular biomarkers will help to stratify patients in early diagnosis”, “for greater effectiveness”. In addition, he referred to immunotherapy, currently considered “very effective in a group of prostate cancer patients”.

Despite the magnitude of technological evolution, Estevão Lima noted that, “as in any surgical procedure, the most important thing is the surgeon, because any surgery implies a character of competence”. Thus, technology came to “reduce the margin of error, but the human factor remains associated”.

As the end of the event approached, actor Jorge Serafim entered the stage to humanize the theme through popular stories and a touch of humor. After the laughter, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions to the guest speakers. After reporting on his path, one of the members of the public was even presented with good news - apparently, he will not have prostate cancer.

For those who were unable to be present at the moment, the Braga session of the initiative “Treat Cancer by You”, subordinated to prostate cancer, will be available in podcast on Antena 1 and RTP PLAY.