Every year 346,000 new cases of prostate cancer are detected in Europe alone. At least 1 in 10 people age 65 or older suffers from urinary incontinence, the involuntary loss of urine. And epidemiologic data indicate that erectile dysfunction (ED) is a significant problem among men worldwide. As many as 42.8 million men are expected to suffer from ED in Europe alone in 2025.
Shame and undetected symptoms are among the key reasons why many Europeans neglect to seek medical help when experiencing urological complaints. Urology Week - organised from 15 to 19 September 2008 - is a tool with which the European Association of Urology wishes to stimulate people to visit their doctors when they suffer from such complaints.
These 3 conditions - prostate conditions, incontinence and erectile dysfunction - are the key themes of this year's Urology Week, organised by the European Association of Urology (EAU), the European knowledge centre of urology in Arnhem, The Netherlands, in cooperation with Europa UOMO, a European advocacy movement for the fight against prostate cancer. Next year, two different key themes will be selected so that the entire spectrum of urological conditions will be covered in due time. Prostate conditions remain a key theme, since so many men suffer from them; 52 per 1000 men.
The EAU seeks to create more awareness of urological conditions and the work of the urologist among the European public, especially those over 50, since they are the ones who suffer from these conditions most.
September 15 will be Prostate Awareness Day, as it has been for 3 years now. On September 17, activities will focus on incontinence and September 19 is the day when erectile dysfunction is highlighted.
|
|
