Men Over 40: Why You Shouldn’t Skip a Urology Check-Up

By Grace Wafubwa

Before dawn, 47-year-old teacher George Ouma left his home in Bondo with a small bag in hand and boarded a matatu bound for Kisumu.

The journey would take more than an hour. But for Ouma, it was more than a trip between two towns. It was a desperate search for answers after nearly two years of living with pain he had kept largely to himself.

His nights had become a cycle of interrupted sleep. Almost every hour, the urge to urinate forced him out of bed. Four, five, sometimes six trips to the bathroom before morning left him exhausted.

Each visit was accompanied by a burning sensation when he urinated, while persistent pain in his testicles lingered long after he returned to bed.

By morning, Ouma was drained. His exhaustion followed him into the classroom, where he struggled to concentrate on his work as a teacher.

But the physical pain was only part of what he was experiencing.

At home, his health problems had begun to affect his marriage.

His wife struggled to understand why the man she had shared her life with had withdrawn from intimacy. The affection they once enjoyed had been replaced by awkward silences, unanswered questions and growing suspicion.

“She thought I was cheating on her,” Ouma says.

“She kept asking why I no longer wanted to be close to her. She believed I was seeing younger women and had contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Every time I tried to explain that I was in pain, she thought I was lying.”

The accusations became frequent. Arguments replaced laughter around the dinner table, and a marriage once built on trust began to strain under the weight of a health problem neither of them fully understood.

“There were days I thought I had lost my family,” Ouma recalls. “I was in pain every day, but the emotional pain was worse. I felt helpless because I couldn’t explain what was happening to my body. I stopped talking to friends. I became withdrawn. I was slipping into depression.”

Like many men, Ouma chose silence.

Embarrassed by symptoms involving his urinary and sexual health, he convinced himself the condition would eventually go away. Instead, it worsened. The frequent urination became more severe, the pain intensified and his confidence declined both at home and at work.

Then came a turning point.

During a visit to Africa Inuka Hospital in Bondo, Ouma learned about a free urology medical camp scheduled to take place in Kisumu.

“When I heard the camp would be in Kisumu, I immediately decided I would go,” he says. “I felt safer seeking treatment away from home. I didn’t want to meet people I knew because I feared they would judge me or start rumours. Men’s health is something many people don’t talk about.”

Before sunrise, he set off for Kisumu.

When Ouma arrived at the hospital premises, he encountered something he had not expected.

Hundreds of men had already formed a queue across the compound.

Some leaned quietly against walls. Others sat patiently on benches, avoiding eye contact. Each appeared to be carrying a burden that was not immediately visible.

There were young professionals and retired civil servants, farmers and teachers, businessmen, boda boda riders and members of the clergy.

They had come for the same reason: an opportunity to speak about health problems many had concealed for months, and in some cases, years.

By mid-morning, nearly 200 men had turned up for the free urology screening.

Some reported waking several times each night to urinate. Others described blood in their urine, severe lower back pain, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, infertility, painful swelling of the testicles or persistent pelvic pain.

Many said they had delayed seeking medical attention because they feared ridicule or believed their symptoms were simply part of getting older.

Standing among the crowd, Ouma realised that his experience was far from unique.

“Looking around, I understood I wasn’t the only man carrying this burden,” he says. “For the first time, I didn’t feel ashamed. I felt hopeful.”

A Warning From Experience

Among those waiting to be screened was 62-year-old Dennis Oloo Okello, a retired civil servant from Nyando.

Unlike some of the men who arrived quietly, burdened by fear and uncertainty, Okello moved confidently through the hospital compound, occasionally greeting familiar faces and reassuring those waiting in line.

He had travelled to Kisumu with five men from his village, determined that they would undergo urological screening before symptoms became life-threatening.

“I keep telling men that there is no shame in being examined,” Okello says. “The real shame is waiting until the disease has spread and there is little doctors can do.”

His conviction comes from personal experience.

Several years ago, Okello began experiencing urinary problems similar to those affecting many of the men at the medical camp. He frequently woke during the night to urinate, struggled with a weak urine stream and often felt that his bladder had not emptied completely.

Like many men of his generation, he initially dismissed the symptoms as a normal consequence of ageing.

“I kept telling myself, ‘This is just what happens when you grow older,'” he recalls. “I delayed seeking treatment because I thought there was nothing anyone could do.”

A routine medical examination, however, revealed the problem before it became life-threatening.

Doctors diagnosed his condition early and began treatment, preventing complications that could have permanently affected his health.

“If I had waited any longer, my story could have been very different,” he says. “Early diagnosis saved my life. That is why I keep encouraging other men not to fear hospitals.”

Today, Okello has become an advocate for men’s health in his community.

Whenever he hears about a medical camp or men’s health outreach programme, he mobilises friends, neighbours and fellow retirees to attend.

He says too many men continue to suffer because they mistake warning signs for ordinary ageing or fear being judged when discussing intimate health problems.

“Many men would rather suffer in silence than admit they have a problem passing urine or performing sexually,” he says. “Some only seek help when they can no longer urinate or when the pain becomes unbearable. By then, the disease may already be advanced.”

As he watched the five men he had brought from his village register for screening, Okello smiled with quiet satisfaction.

“If even one of them is diagnosed early and gets treatment, then the journey was worth it,” he says. “I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. We must normalise these check-ups because they save lives.”

His message echoed across the hospital compound, where hundreds of men waited for their turn—not only seeking treatment, but confronting a culture of silence that can stand between patients and early medical care.

Warning Signs Men Should Not Ignore

Dr. Chad, a urologist and practising general surgeon, says poor health-seeking behaviour remains one of the biggest challenges in managing urological diseases.

“Most men ignore the early warning signs and only come to hospital when they are unable to pass urine or the pain becomes unbearable. By then, what could have been treated early has often progressed,” he says.

Dr. Chad urges men, as well as younger people, to seek medical attention if they experience persistent urinary symptoms, including frequent urination—particularly at night—difficulty passing urine, a weak urine stream, a burning sensation during urination, blood in the urine, pain in the lower abdomen or testicles, or a feeling that the bladder has not emptied completely.

“These symptoms should never be dismissed as a normal part of ageing. Early screening helps us determine whether the condition is benign or something more serious, such as prostate cancer.”

He also emphasises that urological conditions are not confined to older men.

“Young people are not spared either. They can develop urinary tract infections, kidney stones and other urological conditions. Anyone with persistent urinary symptoms should seek medical evaluation early instead of waiting for the condition to worsen.”

Dr. Chad says prevention also involves adopting healthier lifestyles.

“We encourage people to eat more indigenous vegetables and fruits such as watermelons and oranges because they provide essential nutrients, promote hydration and support kidney and urinary tract health. We also advise people to avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, which can damage the kidneys and liver and increase the risk of chronic diseases.”

Medical camps, he says, can help bridge the gap between communities and specialist healthcare by bringing services closer to people, raising awareness and encouraging earlier screening and treatment.

The Psychological Cost of Silence

For some men, the barriers to seeking care are not only physical or financial.

According to Dr. Linnet Akinyi, a psychologist at Avenue Hospital, fear, stigma and isolation remain significant obstacles to early urological screening.

Many men, she says, associate urinary and sexual health problems with shame. Some fear they will be labelled unfaithful or accused of contracting sexually transmitted infections.

As a result, some withdraw from their partners, families and social circles rather than seeking medical attention.

“The fear of being judged, rejected or abandoned often keeps men away from hospitals. Instead of talking about their symptoms, they isolate themselves, and this can lead to anxiety, depression and strained relationships,” says Dr. Akinyi.

She urges families and communities to challenge the stigma surrounding men’s health.

Urological conditions, she says, are medical illnesses—not evidence of infidelity—and seeking care early can help prevent complications while supporting both physical and emotional well-being.

For Ouma, the experience of travelling to Kisumu offered more than an opportunity to seek medical answers. It showed him that the fears and symptoms he had kept to himself were shared by many other men.

A Wider Health-System Challenge

The medical camp also highlighted a broader challenge facing Kenya’s health system: access to specialised urological services.

According to the Ministry of Health’s 2024 Service Availability and Readiness Assessment, only 32 per cent of health facilities offer screening, diagnosis and treatment services, with PSA testing being the most commonly available screening method.

The findings point to gaps in access to early diagnosis, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

It is this gap that Africa Inuka Hospital hopes to address through regular community outreach.

According to the hospital’s registrar, the facility plans to make the urology medical camp an annual programme and gradually expand it beyond Kisumu County, bringing specialist services closer to communities where access to urologists remains limited.

“Many men do not seek treatment because specialist services are either too far away, too expensive or they simply lack awareness. By taking these medical camps into the communities and offering subsidised screening and consultation services, we hope to detect diseases early, improve health-seeking behaviour and ultimately save lives,” the registrar says.

The initiative comes as Kisumu County faces a shortage of urological specialists. According to information provided for the medical camp, only five practising urologists serve the county and patients referred from across the wider Lake Region.

For many men, community medical camps may provide an opportunity to access specialist care without travelling long distances or facing costs they cannot easily afford.

As Ouma left the consultation room with renewed hope and Okello accompanied the five men he had brought from Nyando through the screening process, the significance of the day’s outreach extended beyond the hospital compound.

The men who had arrived carrying private fears and unanswered questions had, for a few hours, found themselves part of a much larger conversation about health, stigma and the cost of waiting.

For Ouma, the journey from Bondo to Kisumu was a search for answers.

For Okello, bringing five men from his village was an act of prevention.

Together, their stories point to the same lesson: when it comes to urological health, silence can delay care, while early attention can open the door to diagnosis, treatment and hope.

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