Brazilian president says 1,000 men a year undergo penis amputations due to a lack of water and soap
- Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain, called the figure ‘ridiculous and sad’
- He said officials must work with vulnerable men to combat the issue
- Bolsonaro spoke to reporters in Brasilia after visiting the Education Ministry
Brazil’s President claims 1,000 men undergo penis amputations every year in the South American country due to a lack of basic hygiene.
Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain, called the state of affairs ‘ridiculous and sad’ in a press conference in Brasilia after visiting the Education Ministry.
The Brazilian Urology Society confirmed the figure, adding some men are forced to have their genitals removed due to untreatable infections, as well as cancer and complications of HIV.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro called the figure ‘ridiculous and sad’ in a press conference in Brasilia after visiting the Education Ministry. He is pictured during the open ceremony of the 22nd conference of the march in dense of the municipalities in Brasilia on April 9
‘In Brazil, we have 1,000 penis amputations a year due to a lack of water and soap,’ Bolsonaro said.
‘We have to find a way to get out of the bottom of this hole.’
Bolsonaro did not specify the source of the figure, however, it has been quoted in local news magazines as far back as 2017.
He added his government must start to work with vulnerable men to make them more aware of the dangers of poor hygiene.
Genital hygiene is ‘perhaps the most important factor in preventing penile cancer in uncircumcised men’, according to the American Cancer Society.
Studies have shown men who have their foreskin removed are less at risk of the disease. This is thought to be due to circumcision preventing the build-up of the cheesy-looking substance smegma.
Penis cancer is a rare disease that affects just one in 100,000 men in North America and Europe, according to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Treatment depends on the size of the affected area and the rate the tumour has spread.
WHY WOULD A PENIS NEED TO BE AMPUTATED?
Part or all of the penis may need to be amputated if a man develops advanced cancer of the genitals.
Penis cancer is a rare disease that affects just one in 100,000 men in North America and Europe, according to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Treatment depends on the size of the affected area and the rate the tumour has spread.
Surgery is one of the main treatment options, and involves removing the cancerous cells and possibly some of the surrounding tissue.
If the cancer is stage 1, defined as a relatively small tumour that is contained within the organ it started in, a man may just have to have his foreskin or part of his penis removed, Cancer Research UK reports.
But if it has advanced to stage 3 or 4 – when the tumour is large and has spread – the patient will usually have to have part or even all of his penis amputated.
Between 1.2 and 1.4 in every 100,000 men developed penis cancer in England in 1990-to-2009, of which 11 per cent had a total genital amputation, a study revealed. US figures are unknown.
Genital hygiene is ‘perhaps the most important factor in preventing penile cancer in uncircumcised men’, according to the American Cancer Society.
Studies have shown men who have their foreskin removed are less at risk of the disease. This is thought to be due to circumcision preventing the build-up of the cheesy-looking substance smegma.
Poor hygiene also increases the risk of infections anywhere on the body if it allows dangerous bacteria and viruses to enter the skin via wounds. And if the infection becomes gangrenous, amputation is often the only option.
Surgery is one of the main treatment options, and involves removing the cancerous cells and possibly some of the surrounding tissue.
If the cancer is stage 1, defined as a relatively small tumour that is contained within the organ it started in, a man may just have to have his foreskin or part of his penis removed, Cancer Research UK reports.
But if it has advanced to stage 3 or 4 – when the tumour is large and has spread – the patient will usually have to have part or even all of his penis amputated.
Between 1.2 and 1.4 in every 100,000 men developed penis cancer in England in 1990-to-2009, of which 11 per cent had a total genital amputation, a study revealed. US figures are unknown.
Poor hygiene also increases the risk of infections anywhere on the body if it allows dangerous bacteria and viruses to enter the skin via wounds.
And if the infection becomes gangrenous, amputation is often the only option.
HIV complications may also lead to a penis amputation if an infected ulcer, which is often an early sign of the virus, goes untreated.
Bolsonaro is celebrated by his supporters for being a ‘man’s man’, but has sparked outrage following years of racist comments.
He is also quoted as saying ‘yes, I’m homophobic—and very proud of it’.
Earlier today, Bolsonaro sparked an immediate backlash from the LGBT community when he said Brazil must not become a ‘gay tourism paradise’.
‘If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,’ Crusoé reported. ‘[But] Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families.’
Bolsonaro even once said he would rather have a dead son than a gay one. And he told the British actor Stephen Fry, who is openly gay, ‘Brazilian society doesn’t like homosexuals.’
He went on to accuse ‘homosexual fundamentalists’ of brainwashing children to ‘become gays and lesbians to satisfy them sexually in the future’.
But it is not just the LGBT community Bolsonaro has offended. He once told a female lawmaker she was too ugly to rape, and said the birth of his daughter, after having four sons, was a ‘moment of weakness.’
Bolsonaro also made global headlines in March when he shared a video showing one man urinating on another during Brazil’s famous annual street carnival.
‘What is a golden shower?’ he tweeted the day after posting the video, in which a barely dressed party-goer writhes atop a bus shelter, bending over so another man can urinate on his head.
Critics claim Bolsonaro’s tweets demonstrate he is more focused on riling people than building consensus in Congress for necessary reforms, such as an overhaul of the country’s budget-busting pension system.
PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS
Jair Bolsonaro is celebrated by his supporters for being a ‘man’s man’, but has sparked outrage following years of racist comments.
He is also quoted as saying ‘yes, I’m homophobic—and very proud of it’.
Earlier today, Bolsonaro sparked an immediate backlash from the LGBT community when he said Brazil must not become a ‘gay tourism paradise’.
‘If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,’ Crusoé reported. ‘[But] Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families.’
Bolsonaro even once said he would rather have a dead son than a gay one. And he told the British actor Stephen Fry, who is openly gay, ‘Brazilian society doesn’t like homosexuals.’
He went on to accuse ‘homosexual fundamentalists’ of brainwashing children to ‘become gays and lesbians to satisfy them sexually in the future’.
But it is not just the LGBT community Bolsonaro has offended. He once told a female lawmaker she was too ugly to rape, and said the birth of his daughter, after having four sons, was a ‘moment of weakness.’
Bolsonaro also made global headlines in March when he shared a video showing one man urinating on another during Brazil’s famous annual street carnival.
‘What is a golden shower?’ he tweeted the day after posting the video, in which a barely dressed party-goer writhes atop a bus shelter, bending over so another man can urinate on his head.
Critics claim Bolsonaro’s tweets demonstrate he is more focused on riling people than building consensus in Congress for necessary reforms, such as an overhaul of the country’s budget-busting pension system.
Source: Read Full Article