Prostate cancer: How Transatlantic Consortium gives hope to Black patients

By Chioma Obinna

When Prof. Folakemi  Odedina looks backmost connected the aboriginal days of the Prostate Cancer Transatlantic Consortium (CAPTC), she remembers sleepless nights, idiosyncratic sacrifices, and backing probe retired of her ain pocket.

Twenty years later, the Professor of Hematology and Oncology astatine Mayo Clinic is starring 1 of the astir influential collaborations successful the satellite dedicated to ending prostate crab disparities among men of African ancestry.

“It started from idiosyncratic sacrifices,” she recalled.

“My hubby and I were really utilizing my idiosyncratic wealth to money the probe successful Africa. But done the grace of God, those tiny beginnings grew into millions of dollars successful biomedical research, objective trials, and subsister support.”

Formed successful 2005, CAPTC has grown from a fistful of scientists and clinicians into a planetary web of researchers, survivors, and advocates moving crossed North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Today, it is credited with groundbreaking probe connected genetics, prevention, and attraction tailored to Black men.

Silent killer

For decades, prostate crab has been a soundless slayer successful Black communities. Unlike HIV oregon COVID-19, it seldom makes headlines, yet it devastates families erstwhile a father, husband, oregon member is lost.

As CAPTC looks ahead, Odedina said they are preparing younger scientists, clinicians, and advocates to transportation the torch done “CAPTC Next Generation.”

She said the extremity is to physique a pipeline of African experts who volition not conscionable enactment but pb planetary crab research.

“The question is always, what keeps you going? For me, it’s going into a community, returning a twelvemonth later, and uncovering men mislaid to prostate cancer. Behind each fig is simply a person, a family, a community. If there’s 1 much happening we tin bash to halt that loss, past we beryllium it to them.”

For  Dr. Ebenezer Nkom, a Consultant Surgeon and CAPTC member: “It’s a soundless slayer of men of a peculiar property group. When the antheral goes, you scatter the household somehow. But if you get it early, the chances of cure are real. That’s wherefore I stayed with this consortium. They brought prostate crab to the burner for us, and men are coming retired to question help.”

This consciousness is redeeming lives. Survivors present basal alongside doctors arsenic advocates, encouraging men to trial aboriginal and combat stigma.

A survivor’s story

Captain Yahaya Ayinde Yahaya, a 73-year-old retired soldier, is 1 specified survivor. Diagnosed aft a agelong and costly process of scans, biopsies, and MRIs, helium chose religion and courageousness implicit fear.

“As a soldier, I americium trained to dice and to kill,” helium said.

“When I learned I had prostate cancer, I accepted my fate. But joining Professor Odedina’s radical turned maine into an advocate. Today, radical adjacent telephone maine a aesculapian doc connected prostate crab due to the fact that I tin sermon the terminology.”

In his assemblage of Igbogbo, Yahaya organised escaped screenings for hundreds of men and women, sparing them tests that could person outgo up to N30,000 successful backstage hospitals.

Speaking to Good Health Weekly, “I consciousness achieved,” helium said proudly.

“If I tin instrumentality CAPTC to my people, past I person fixed back.”

Beyond cutting-edge research, CAPTC’s spot lies successful assemblage outreach. Through the African Behavioral Research Centre, it distributes steadfast groceries, educates families connected nutrition, and connects survivors with enactment networks.

For Prof. Odedina, survivors are adjacent partners: “Doctors are beside the bed, scientists are successful the lab, but survivors are successful the bed. They genuinely recognize the disease. Their voices signifier our probe and solutions.”

This inclusive exemplary is present being replicated successful crab centres worldwide.

At CAPTC’s 20th day celebration, Prof. Clayton Yates of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine praised the consortium’s achievements:

“CAPTC established the archetypal prostate crab genome sequencing for African American men. That find is present shaping therapies tailored to our communities. But what’s unsocial is the situation here; nary substance wherever you travel from, you consciousness astatine home. That’s wherefore this has lasted 20 years.”

Also speaking, the African investigator, Prof. Solomon Rotimi of Covenant University, said the ngo is besides astir independence. “Clinical trials indispensable beryllium done astatine home,” helium explained. “You cannot participate your location done different man’s gate. Our genetics, our diets, our situation they are different. If we don’t trial treatments here, we won’t cognize however they genuinely enactment for our people.”

Twenty years on,...