False beliefs about prostate cancer in elderly – a tertiary care hospital based study, north india

Objectives: To assess the false beliefs and myths about prostate cancer in elderly.Methodology: The cross sectional study was conducted in Geriatric Clinic run by Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh from July to December 2019. Systematic random sampling was done. Every 5th patient visiting geriatric OPD was included as a study participant. Information was sought using a pretested and prestructured questionnaire. The sample size comprised of 567 elderly males. Data so collected was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results: Of the total, 46% had heard of the prostate cancer. Most of the participants,69.8% were unaware of any kind of examination for prostate cancer detection. 97.3% said that men with urinary symptoms should get screened for the malignancy.93.1% of our subjects were advised by some health provider for getting screened.Conclusion: Many elderly have beliefs which are not correct regarding prostate cancer. Hence efforts must be done to increase awareness about this cancer among elderly.