withandabusiveTenMentalresponsibleboysMentoringFeaturetobecomemenhealthsignsofanwifehowtodealit If Sibusiso can do it, so can you! Feature
3 IF SIBUSISO CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU! 4 MENTORING BOYS TO BECOME RESPONSIBLE MEN 5 STOP TELLING BOYS TO MAN UP 7 XOLISA RAISES A FARMING NATION ONE SEED AT A TIME! 8-9 TEN SIGNS OF AN ABUSIVE WIFE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT 10 HOW COMMON IS PROSTATE CANCER IN SOUTH AFRICA? 11 AGGRESSIVE PROSTATE CANCER LINKED TO ANCESTRAL HERITAGE EDITOR: THEMBA KHUMALO MANAGING EDITOR: MBANGWA XABA LAYOUT & DESIGN: MALLORY MUNIEN
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Voice Corner
Toxic masculinity is where cold-heart edness and brutality are yardsticks by which the male species is measured. The purportedly “feminine” qualities which range from emotional vulnerability to being too caring and not hypersexual are the means by which the status and dignity of a man can be decimated. When society associates masculin ity with brute strength, some males will inevitably feel like they are inadequate at “being real men”. Just as piss follows beer, this set of males will gravitate toward toxic mas culinity which is chock-a-blocked with violence. They are highly likely to abuse women and children. For them to be ‘alpha males’ as defined by society, they resort to exhibiting atrocious behaviour. The straitjacket mentality of creating a macho man image has forced a lot of boys and men to keep their feelings withdrawn from the world and to suppress and/or override them. With the exclusion of deadly anger, boys often lose touch with their emotions. If the boy child regularly experiences ceaseless onslaught from widely held cri tique that invalidates his feelings, he often turns into an angry and frustrated human being. When these boys get to adulthood, being emotionally available will always be a Herculean task – a challenge of tsunami proportions.Ashedload of adverse consequences are attendant to boys who suppress their feelings, from life-risk behaviour such as substance abuse, aggression and reck lessness.When all outlets to release the pentup emotions are blocked, a time comes when there will be an explosion and anybody within the proximity of the boy becomes a victim. It demands every adult to be keenly aware of the threat posed by the social pressures faced by boys. We must clearly understand that the key to helping boys is to put an end to the injurious pressure of the ‘manning up’ creed. These pressures for boys to con form can be overwhelming and we need to changeForcingtack.boys to adapt to lethal ma chismo will not ground them. Boys can be properly and firmly grounded by their connection to people who care about and loveGiventhem.that parents cannot make their sons insusceptible, it is important though to never underestimate the power of our influence to give them a boost and pro tect them from toxic masculinity. LET’S REMOVE THE UP’ CREED FROM OUR LEXICON Themba Khumalo
The calling out comes in the form of name-calling, “he is a sissy” or “that boy is a weakling”. Some, whose attitude is grounded in homophobia, will scream at a boy, “Don’t be gay ”. The lot that has deeply ingrained misogynistic attitudes and were born under an angry and violent star can be heard screaming, “You fight like a girl”.
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The boys who are considered ‘too soft’ are subjected to hostile acts such as beatings, bullying and the worst case scenario is sexual assault.
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A boy who seeks help, being emotion ally expressive or demonstrates dollops of compassion and care toward others and/or himself, society puts the kibosh on him.Sickening and corrosive social at titudes have placed pint-sized value on compassion. It encourages the worthless idea of the macho man.
ociety raises monsters - feeding them a diet laced with toxicity. When the monsters grow big and start feeding voraciously, we run around in never-ending circles with our hands in the air. We curse and create hashtags as the beasts unleash the rage they were fed from a young age. We vilify the beast we raised and trained. It never fell from the sky. Since time immemorial, society has driven boys to learn at a tender age about expected conducts centred on their gender and the treacherous notion of ‘you must man up’. We tell them, without flinching, “boys do not cry”. At a young age, we shape them up to believe that expressing emotions is a sign of weakness. Many adults are guilty of calling out boys whose behaviour is deemed not to be in sync with society’s classification of manhood.
Macho manhood is steeped in twisted traditional and socially structured clas sifications on the norms and beliefs of ‘acceptable’ male behaviour. These norms and beliefs have, over the years, created and promoted an authoritarian social figure of masculinity of not crying or showing emotions. This shallow approach to ‘acceptable’ manhood has given rise to toxicToxicmasculinity.masculinity is a restrictive and tyrannical depiction of manhood. It assigns manhood to violence, sexual conquest and abuse, arrogant status and hostility. This is a dangerous and abomi nable cultural ideal of masculinity, where domineering strength is everything and emotional intelligence is viewed as an Achilles’ heel.
‘MANNING
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By Staff Writer W hen you climb a hill and see a mountain ahead, you keep going. This is what is em bedded in Sibusiso Vilane’s DNA.“Iaccomplished what I had set out to do because I had refused to give up when there was a chance and reason to do so. I reached my pre-determined end-goal because when all physical fitness and strength, including selfmotivation, had left me, I summoned my mental strength to pull me through hours of pain and dread. “Strength grows in the moments when you think you can’t go on, but you keep on going anyway,” said Sibusiso. Sibusiso, who started climbing in 1996 by summiting peaks in the Drak ensberg, became the first black person to conquer the colossally revered Mount Everest.In1999, he summited Kilimanjaro and went on to the Himalayas in 2002, successfully climbing Pokalde, Lobujé and Island Peak, all of which are over 6,000 metres high, as part of his train ing for the Everest expedition. In March 2003, Sibusiso again set off for the Himalayas in his quest to be the first black African to summit earth’s largest and most fearsome mountain, Everest, the Queen of the Himalayas. He summited successfully on 26 May 2003.On that day, former President Thabo Mbeki congratulated him on his achievement and grit. “In this, he has shown the heights we can all scale in life, if we put our shoulder to the wheel and work at things without flagging. Sibusiso, you have done us proud.” In 2006, Sibusiso was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga (Bronze) by PresidentInMbeki.2005, he reached the summit of Everest again with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Alex Harris after accessing the peak from the North Ridge – the more difficult and statistically less-successful side.This achievement meant Sibusiso is the first black African to climb the world’s highest peak twice and by two different routes. Three children’s charities, including Wits University’s 20 research programmes, the Africa Foundation and the SOS Children’s Village in Swaziland, benefitted from his climb. Sibusiso is one of a handful of South Africans, and the first black African to achieve the feat of climbing each of the Seven Summits, the seven highest peaks on each of the seven continents: 1. Kilimanjaro (Africa) 1999 2. Everest (Asia) 2003 and 2005 3. Aconcagua (South America) 2006 4. Elbrus (Europe) 2006 5. Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania) 2006 6. Vinson (Antarctica) 2006 7. Denali/McKinley (North America) 2008.On 17 January 2008, Vilane and his Team Extreme partner, Alex Harris, be came the first South Africans to walk to the South Pole completely unassisted. In early 2012, he completed the three poles ‘challenge’ when he trekked to the North Pole. (The Three Poles are the North Pole, the South Pole and Everest).
Sibusiso’s irrepressible spirit and in fectious enthusiasm for life inspires and uplifts people of all backgrounds and circumstances, especially children. As a professional public speaker, his message is simple: “Every person has their own Everest to climb. Whether you’re prepared for it or not, it’s therechallenging you to reach the top.” And if Sibusiso can do that in the most dangerous and inhospitable of conditions and against all odds, so can you. SIBUSISO
CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU!
Sibusiso Vilane is a South African adventurer and motivational speaker and the author of the book To the Top from Nowhere.
Sibusiso Vilane is a motivational speaker, adventurer, marathon runner, mountaineer and a member of the Advisory Committee for Sivusisizwe Africa Initiative. He has written a book titled, To the Top from Nowhere.
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I grew up as a homeless boy after my parents separated when I was only three years old. This subjected me to a less than ideal and mostly desperate upbringing. I never knew the thing called “fatherly love”. When my father left us, we became my grandmother’s responsibility. My father never took responsibility for our upbringing and childhood needs, yet he was the one who had brought us to this world. My younger sister and I were treated badly because we had no mother or father to protect us. While our grandmother looked after us, she had no power to defend us. Other kids took advantage of us. I had no father figure to look up to, to show me how to live life, lead a family and how to treat my own children. That meant my adult life was going to be influenced by what I thought, than what I had been taught by my father. I knew no home or houseFathersrules.influence the way we grow up and help us figure out how to lead our own lives and run our own families when we grow up. We emulate how they treat their children and our mothers. Fatherless boys, therefore, face numer ous challenges, especially when there is no social father to provide mentorship and guide them at the age when they most need it. How do we then expect them to know how to deal with life and those around them? We cannot leave it to them to figure things or life on their own. It’s time we, as grown men, assume the responsibil ity of mentoring boys and young men. I was fortunate that from as young as three years old I had an open mind to realise how different I was from other chil dren who grew up with both parents. From then on, I chose the life I was going to try andButlead.not many boys have that capability to recognise and distinguish that which will impact their lives in a negative way. That’s where mentorship plays a pivotal role. This is what makes me want to play my part in mentoring boys - coach them about life and guide them on how to live life in a responsible manner. Let us step in, as men, and play our part in building a society we desire. There is a plethora of much-needed programmes to educate, empower and upskill the girl child and young women. We cannot afford to leave the boy child behind. If you are wondering where to start, look around your close or extended family, do research in your neighbourhood and church and look for organisations that invite volunteers to join their mentoring programmes.Talktoyour stokvel members about starting a Boys2Men Stokvel that meets monthly to support or mentor selected boys for at least 12 months. I would like to challenge businesses and corporates to partner with organisa tions such as Sivusisizwe Africa Initiatives that are designing interventions to support township-based fatherless boys. Among the various interventions worthy of support are experiential weekend camps for boys. If we hope to have future leaders who are responsible, we must act now.
By Sibusiso Vilane
MENTORING BOYS TO BECOME RESPONSIBLE MEN
STOP TELLING BOYS TO MAN UP R aising boys to be men is not about “manning up”. As parents of sons, we should be teaching our chil dren skills to nurture their strength and friendships in healthy ways. Dr Michael Reichert, the author of How To Raise A Boy, offers the following important ways to break the mould and help your son be the best little man he can be.
Relationships help people become more aware and expressive of their emotions.
BEING OVERLY HARD ON YOUR SON
ALLOW YOUR SON TO SHOW EMOTIONS
Some parents are extra strict on their sons as a way of “toughening them up”, often saying, “this will turn you into a man”. The only thing that turns boys into men is the natural process of growing up. No prescribed behaviour makes a boy into a man. Saying this phrase will only make kids feel bad about themselves if they don’t live up to what a “man” should be. – lowvelder. co.za This article was adapted from How to Raise a Boy by Michael Reichert, PhD.
CULTIVATE A STRONG CONNECTION WITH YOUR SON Because boys are under so much pres sure from their peers, they need to have a strong sense of themselves. As parents, we need to remember that our relation ship with our sons is their primary source of strength, so we shouldn’t make them compromise on who they are. Because the cultural norm for boys is not to rely on their parents, it is essential for parents to be available to their sons and keep an eye on their lives so that their sons can trust them.
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STOP GENDER STEREOTYPES
Boys can only be expected to talk about their feelings in places where they won’t be shamed or judged. If a young boy feels sad, then it’s okay for them to express their feelings by crying. This is normal. Validating a child’s feelings is important, and crying is a way for them to be in touch with their emotions. And parents should always validate their child’s feelings.
The first step in advocating for boys is understanding the threats they face from social gender pressures. There are many things that boys have to deal with right from the start. When a little boy cries, he is told to be a “big boy”. Later, if the boy plays with dolls or other toys that are thought to be for girls, he is likely to be told he’s acting like a girl On sports fields and school play grounds, boys face more pressure to meet stereotyped expectations, such as love competition, playing through pain, seeking to be the best, Sometimes,etc.parents get mixed up when choosing between setting limits and being kind to their son. For our sons to be able to stand up to pressures and get help when they need it, we need to stop the labels. Being a good parent to a boy means accepting and un derstanding that he is his own person, with his own interests and strengths.
If you want to raise strong, confident boys, stop telling them to man up. Photo by domesticshelters.org
WHEN YOU SAVE A BOY CHILD, YOU SAVE A GENERATION Strength, courage, mastery, empathy and honour are the alpha virtues of a gentleman. Boys become men of integrity through the influence of people who care about the boy child… and intentionally creating a positive and nurturing environment! It’s time to talk www.mensvoice.co.za
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His primary goal is to get a bigger farm to en able him to farm both crops and livestock and employ farming graduates. According to Xolisa, people need to grow their own food now for a sustainable future.
Photo by foodformzansi.co.za
“I highly recommend young people to enrol in agriculture-related studies. We need more people to participate in the food produc tion industry. Another good thing is there are a lot of career opportunities within agriculture industry which make it an interesting profes sion.” – foodformzansi.co.za
By Vateka Halile F rom a young age, Xolisa Zamxaka understood the power of agriculture. The farmer and agricultural economist believes agriculture is the answer in the battle against poverty in Mzansi. He is the founder of Ilitha Farming, a small-scale farming business in the Kei Farm Village of Centane, in the Eastern Cape. Ilitha Farming is a mixed farming operation with vegetables and livestock, including poul try, cattle, goats and pigs. Xolisa’s vegetables are grown on four hectares of land while his livestock operations are run on communal land in his native village. Speaking about the inspiration behind Ilitha Farming, Xolisa explains: “I was at home during Covid-19 when the notion for begin ning Ilitha Farming came about. We planted vegetables for household [use] then the idea came while I was in the garden to instruct people in farming through online platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, What sApp, video calls – for the reason that people were not allowed to gather in small numbers at oneXolisaplace.”also offers training and mentorship, as well as consultation services for new farm ers in the Eastern Cape. The company also assists farmers in the province with services such as company registration, co-operative registration, mentorship services and farming business plans.
Xolisa Zamxaka farms vegetables on four hectares of land in Kei Farm Village in the Eastern Cape.
XOLISA RAISES A FARMING NATION ONE SEED AT A TIME!
Xolisa sells his livestock and produce to Ngumbela Fruit and Vegetables in But terworth. Eventually, he hopes to expand his enterprise.“Wealso get large orders directly from people who run catering businesses.” He works with two family members, who assist him when he needs extra hands.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST Xolisa was born and raised in the Kei Farm Village where he was surrounded by neigh bours and family members who loved growing their own food. “As young boys, we were groomed to look after livestock. We were also expected to assist in the planting season with crops such as maize, beans and pumpkins,” said Xolisa. All he learned about growing food was influenced by his late father, Mzimkhulu, a mine worker, and his mother, Nozuko, who were small-scale farmers in their own right. He matriculated from the Phandulwazi Ag ricultural High School in Alice and completed his master’s degree in agricultural economics at Fort Hare University in 2015. Just after he graduated, Xolisa worked for various organisations such as Umtiza Farmers Coop, which sells agricultural goods, Amat hole District Municipality (ADM), Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Fort Cox Agricultural College, Cedara Agricultural College and the department of rural development and agrarian reform.
MOVING TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
HEARING THE PLIGHT OF HIS PEOPLE
As the young man from a village, Xolisa knows the struggle of the people who need a hand-up but can’t find assistance. He believes people are keen to grow their own food and pursue farming but often struggle due to a lack of training opportunities. “Ilitha farming is a neighbourhood devel opment programme. Its purpose [initially] was simply to farm for profit, but now it has been all about helping people from a disadvantaged background get proper agricultural training.”
4. EXTREME JEALOUSY
By Sylvia Smith
TEN SIGNS OF AN ABUSIVE WIFE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
1. CONTROLLING BEHAVIOUR Abusive wives have controlling behaviour. She will control who you hang out with, where you go, where you work, what you do with your salary, what you wear and how often you talk to family or friends. The abuser will try to control you by utilis ing non-verbal communication. She may refuse to talk to you, ignore you, stop being intimate with you, or even sulk until she gets her way. She is also an ace at controlling discussions.
If you believe you are always (metaphori cally speaking) walking on eggshells, this is most likely an indication of abuse. You may have an abusive wife if she shouts, yells or blows a gasket over little things. Such an abusive woman may debilitate you, con stantly criticize you, and often reject your sentiments.Mywife is abusive. What do I do? If things have escalated to this level that you are wondering about the answer to this question; then it is time you took matters into your own hands and set boundaries to mend the relationship.
Most abusive wives are envious. They might demonstrate a bad mood as soon as they see you talking with someone else. Of course, spouses do tend to get jealous when they see their significant others inter act with other people. However, in this case, jealousy is a bit different. Your abusive wife will even grow jealous if you’re paying too much attention to your siblings or parents.
8 Men are not the only ones who can be abusive in a relationship. As shocking as it might be, women can be abusive too. Also, due to the general lack of aware ness regarding the abuse men face, they do not even realise they are dealing with an abusive wife. The signs of an abusive woman can often be so subtle that men may not realise they are at the receiving end. Find out if you, or someone you know, is a victim of an abusive wife by going through the list below. Advice on how to deal with an abusive wife has also been discussed.
3. VIOLENCE If your significant other is rough, either when it comes to you or the people around you, you are in an oppressive relationship. If she punches, hits, and slaps you, these are clear signs the relationship is not sound. She may, likewise, try to kick animals, punch walls or toss things at you when she does not get her way.
5. UNREASONABLE REACTIONS Another prominent sign of your wife being abusive is her having nonsensical reactions. When you commit an error, you feel there is nothing you can do to make it up to her. She will not pardon you for your activities, re gardless of how minute the mistake was or
2. VERBAL ABUSE
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6. ISOLATION Oppressive spouses need you all to themselves. They do not need you invest ing energy with colleagues, family or companions. She would rather prefer you to be miserable and all by yourself. She does not need you hanging out with other individuals for fear that they may identify the abuse.
FINAL THOUGHTS Set boundaries for the things or actions you will accept and not accept from your wife. Make sure to tell her what is and is not acceptable when she speaks to you or about you. Let her know, in no uncertain terms, will you accept her belittling and demeaning you, your intelligence or your character.Onthe off chance that she crosses your limits and calls you rude names, you will need to create some kind of space between the two of you. Get up and leave and disclose to her that each time she says something harmful or mean to you, you will leave her and that situation. In no case should you continue being the victim in a relationship after identifying these signs of an abusive wife? Of course, doing all of these things might not work out. Your abusive wife might grow more aggressive. If she shows such behaviour and refuses to respect you as her spouse, then it is best to part ways for good. Living in a toxic marriage with an abusive wife won’t do you any good. – marriage.com
10. INABILITY TO HANDLE CRITICISM She cannot deal with feedback, regardless of how sincere it is. You cannot give useful feedback without backfiring. She sees everything as negative feedback and feels very insulted and attacked. In any case, she is more than ready to criticize, often in an insulting way, the moment you try and say something to her.
8. BLAMES EVERYONE ELSE She finds ways to accuse others; she assumes no liability for what she has done or said and will blame everybody for anything that turns out badly. She will dependably figure out how to point the finger at you. On the off chance that you have never heard your wife apologise for anything and she is always playing the blame game, you might be in an abusive relationship.
9. GASLIGHTING Gaslighting is the manipulative conduct used to confuse individuals into thinking their responses are so far from what is nor mal that they are insane. The abusive wife tells the husband he is crazy or it is just in his head. Such hus bands are often left wondering whether this behaviour means that they must correct themselves or their wife is abusive enough to skirt the issue by playing a blame game.
7. INSTILS FEAR Does your wife place you in circumstances that might make you fear for your life or safety? If there are instances where she tries to threaten you, makes you feel fright ened, controls and manipulates you to the point where you begin dreading her and are scared, you are clearly in an abusive relationship.
how much you plead her for forgiveness.
● As life expectancy amongst black South African men increases, between 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 men are likely to be affected by pros tate cancer. Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer at a younger age and a more aggressive type of prostate cancer.
We recommend that black South African men consider screening from the age of 40 and that other ethnic groups start screening fromProstate45. cancer is more common in men with a family history of prostate cancer. If you have a family history of prostate cancer you are twice more likely to get prostate cancer. Having a brother with prostate cancer appears to put you at a higher risk than if you have a father with prostate can cer. The more members of your family are affected by prostate cancer, the more likely you are to get it. There is some evidence showing that prostate cancer is also more common in men who have a first degree relative who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly when the breast cancer was diagnosed before the age of 50. Men who have a daughter who has been diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher risk for ag gressive prostate cancer. We recommend that men with a family history of prostate or breast cancer in a first degree relative consider screening from the age of 40.
● About 1 in 8 to 1 in 9 white South African men are likely to be affected by prostate cancer.
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● Men who are at increased risk for prostate cancer because of their race or family his tory should consider screening for prostate cancer from the age of 40 ● All other men should consider screening from the age of 45. – prostate-ca.co.za
Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in males, only behind skin cancer.
One major advantage that black Ameri can men have over black South African men is that they are more likely to be diagnosed when the cancer is at a local or regional stage. (In other words, before it has spread to other parts of the body). This means that after 5 years most of these men will still be alive. In South Africa, the majority of black men will only be diagnosed when the cancer has spread, this is called metastatic prostate cancer and it is incurable. This means that after 5 years only about 30% of these men will still be alive. (5) Black African men from Southern Africa appear to have an additional disadvantage in that they present with significantly more aggressive prostate cancer than African Americans. According to Prostate Cancer UK, 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives and for black British men of African descent 1 in 4 men can expect to be affected.
● Prostate cancer is more common in men with a family history of breast and prostate cancer.
A ccording to Globcan, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men in over one‐half the countries of the world including the Americas, Northern and Western Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and much of Sub‐Saharan Africa. It is the leading cause of cancer death among men in 46 countries, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Although there are no reliable statis tics on the incidence of prostate cancer amongst South African men, it is possible to get an idea of how common prostate cancer is in South African men by looking at the data from countries where men have reasonable access to screening for pros tate cancer and where there is a signifi cant population of black men with African ancestry. (Race is a proven risk factor for prostate cancer with black American and Jamaican men of African descent having the highest recorded rates of prostate cancer worldwide).IntheUSA approximately 11.2 percent of all men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetime according to The SEER data from the National Cancer institute. (3) However if we compare the rates of prostate cancer in white vs black African American men there is a significant difference. It is estimated that 1 in 6 black African American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime compared with 1 in 8 white Ameri can men. If we look at the data from 2008 to 2012 it showed that Black African American men had a 70% greater chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer than white American men. They were also more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as their white counterparts, although this has improved in recent years.
●CONCLUSION Based on current USA and UK data and various clinical studies:
HOW COMMON IS AFRICA?INCANCERPROSTATESOUTH
Photo by Adam Kaz/Getty Image
“We hope this study is a first step to that realisation.”Theinternational research team includ ed academics from the University of Sydney in Australia, and affiliated institutions at St Vincent’s Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hos pital, Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse; in South Africa from the University of Pretoria, University of Limpopo, and Sefako Makgatho Health Science University, and including the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Kalafong Academic Hospital and National Health Laboratory Services; in Brazil from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, and from the University of Manches ter in the United Kingdom, with additional contributions for the Genome Medicine paper from the University of Melbourne and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Australia.
Professor Hayes acknowledges the fore sight of The Petre Foundation and donor Daniel Petre who has supported her vision for inclusive genomic research for over eight years. – sciencedaily.com
AGGRESSIVE PROSTATE CANCER LINKED TO ANCESTRAL HERITAGE
Prostate cancer progresses slowly and less aggressively than many other types of cancer. If detected in the early stages, there is a very high chance of survival.
Photo by drjockers.com
“Prostate cancer is the silent killer in our region,” said University of Pretoria’s Professor Riana Bornman, an international expert in men’s health and clinical lead for the Southern African Prostate Cancer Study in South Africa. “We had to start with a grassroots ap proach, engaging communities with open discussion, establishing the infrastructure for African inclusion in the genomic revolu tion, while determining the true extent of prostateThroughdisease.”sophisticated whole genome sequencing (a way of mapping the entire genetic code of cancer cells), over two mil lion cancer-specific genomic variants were identified in 183 untreated prostate tumours from men living across the three study regions.“We found Africans to be impacted by a greater number and spectrum of acquired (including cancer driver) genetic alterations, with significant implications for ancestral consideration when managing and treating prostate cancer,” said Professor Hayes. “Using cutting-edge computational data science which allowed for pattern recogni tion that included all types of cancer vari ants, we revealed a novel prostate cancer taxonomy which we then linked to different disease outcomes,” said Dr Weerachai Jaratlerdsiri, a computational biologist from the University of Sydney and first author on the Nature “Combiningpaper.our unique dataset with the largest public data source of European and Chinese cancer genomes allowed us to, for the first time, place the African prostate cancer genomic landscape into a global context.”
The results of the sequencing were published in Nature in 2010.
11 T wo pioneering studies published simultaneously in Nature and Genome Medicine, have identified genetic signatures explaining ethnic differ ences in the severity of prostate cancer, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Through genetic sequencing of prostate cancer tumours from Australian, Brazil ian and South African donors, the team identified a new prostate cancer taxonomy (classification scheme) and cancer drivers that not only distinguish patients by genetic ancestry, but also predict which cancers are likely to become life-threatening – a task that currently proves challenging.
As part of her PhD at the University of Sydney, Dr Tingting Gong, first author on the Genome Medicine paper, painstakingly sifted through the genomic data for large changes in the structure of chromosomes (molecules that hold genetic information). These changes are often overlooked be cause of the complexity involved in compu tationally predicting their presence, but are an area of critical importance and contribu tion to prostate cancer.
“We showed significant differences in the acquisition of complex genomic variation in African and European derived tumours, with consequences for disease progression and new opportunities for treat ment,” said Dr Gong.
“Our understanding of prostate cancer has been severely limited by a research focus on Western populations,” said senior author Professor Vanessa Hayes, genomi cist and Petre Chair of Prostate Cancer Re search at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Medicine and Health in “BeingAustralia.ofAfrican descent, or from Africa, more than doubles a man’s risk for lethal prostate cancer. While genomics holds a critical key to unravelling contribut ing genetic and non-genetic factors, data for Africa has till now, been lacking.”
This cancer genome resource is pos sibly the first and largest to include African data, in the “Throughworld.African inclusion, we have made the first steps not only towards glo balising precision medicine but ultimately to reducing the impact of prostate cancer mor tality across rural Africa,” explains Professor Bornman.“Thestrength of this study was the abil ity to generate and process all data through a single technical and analytical pipeline,” added Professor Hayes.
“Diagnosed at age 66 with advanced prostate cancer, to which he succumbed in late December 2021, the Archbishop was an advocate not only for prostate cancer research in southern Africa, but also the benefits that genomic medicine would offer all peoples,” recollected Professor Hayes.
The research featured in the Nature and Genome Medicine paper is part of the legacy of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. He was the first African to have his complete genome sequenced, data which would be an integral part of genetic se quencing and prostate cancer research in southern Africa.
MEN ARE ALSO VICTIMS OF
ABUSE Just because I am a man, it does not mean she cannot hurt me. I am human too…but nobody believes me. www.mensvoice.co.za It’s time to talk
