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Sibongile Ndiweni, Sunday Life Reporter
JUNE is a month that not only acknowledges the toil of fathers as they work towards making ends meet for their families through Fathers’ Day, it is also a men’s health awareness month.
Guided by her awareness that early detection saves lives, local actress and media personality Tinopona ‘‘Tin Tin’’ Katsande will be hosting a Father’s Day event dubbed Father’s Day Health Check at the Legends of Kebab Premier in Milton Park, Harare, on 1 July. The event is aimed at encouraging men on the importance of taking care of their health.
The event will have a wide range of free body screenings which will be supervised by different health specialists, with prostate cancer testing being at the top of the list. Getting blood glucose, blood pressure check-ups, talks on higher health risks for men, mental health, debunking the myths and misinformation surrounding the use of herbs against science to treat cancers and other ailments, men’s sexual reproductive health issues, for example, erectile dysfunction, and creating generational wealth with a healthy body and mind will also be done by respected professionals in their specific field.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Tin Tin said after her diagnosis of cervical cancer, she started a patient-driven cervical cancer awareness initiative that focuses on awareness, free screening programmes, and HPV vaccinations. She expressed how she saw the need to give awareness of the importance of cancer prevention and treatment in men.
“To date, we have held several awareness programmes in the corporate world and our different communities, as well as a free cervical cancer screening in Harare for Mother’s Day 2023. And it being June, men’s health awareness month and Father’s Day, we decided on broadening our initiative by engaging the men in our society through prostate cancer awareness initiatives”, she said.
Tin Tin said Bains Intercare partnered with her to make free prostate screening a success. She highlighted that this test will be a PSA test, which is a blood test to check for the antigen that shows when prostate cancer is present.
“Fathers are contributing immensely to the betterment of this world, they should continue to sacrifice or invest in their children’s education so that when they carry forward their legacy, they can skilfully contribute in society. Cervical, prostrate and breast cancer are of the deadliest in Zimbabwe, even though they are preventable. Routine screening and early treatment can prevent eight in 10 cervical cancer cases if the abnormalities in the cervix are identified early. Early detection saves lives,” she said.
