Awareness raising campaign being held about prostate cancer early detection

Concerning the cause of death among male patients, this was the ninth most prevalent cause of death in 2023, when 758 died of it in Croatia.

In 2021, 2,434 men in Croatia were diagnosed with this disease.

The Croatian Association of Prostate Cancer Patients is holding actions to raise awareness among men to undergo preventive checks, noting that the early diagnosis of that type of cancer can help treat it successfully in 90% of cases.

On 1 February this year, the Health Ministry launched a prostate cancer early detection programme, and the first, pilot phase is covering 10,000 men in Zagreb and Zagreb County.

The pilot program is planned to last one year. It is being carried out in health centres, while the KBC Zagreb Hospital and the Sisters of Mercy Hospital have been selected for additional diagnostics and treatment.

More than €300,000 have been secured for the pilot phase, which will include men between 55 and 69 when the incidence of prostate cancer increases. The goal is to detect potential bottlenecks in the health system and determine measures for successful implementation of the programme at the national level.