MEN AS YOUNG as 35 years old are testing positive for prostatitis and prostate cancer.
Executive officer of the Cancer Support Services (CSS), Janette Lynton, made this disclosure last Saturday when the CSS held a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing day programme at its headquarters on Belmont Road, St Michael.
Lynton stressed that men should have the examination done as early as possible because the tests are showing elevated PSA levels in men at age 35 and not only at 50 years and over, as was previously the norm.
At the testing, the importance of the examination was highlighted when it was found that four of the people who previously had a high reading for prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) were doing fine after visiting their doctors.
Minister of Health Donville Inniss, who also had a PSA test done, said the message needed to go forth that all men should assume that they were at risk of developing prostate cancer.
However, he admitted that part of the challenge was that men had poor health-seeking behaviours and Government was moving to change this.
“The principle here is to help men understand the importance of early diagnosis, so that if there is nothing wrong they have that peace of mind or if there is an early indication that something is wrong a timely intervention can be made”, he said.
The minister commended the CSS for the “excellent” work it was doing even in the face of limited financial and human resources.
“They have been able to go out there and help not only those stricken with cancer but their caregivers and dependents.
“They have really made a marked difference in the quality of life for both patients and relatives,” he said.
“That is why when I joined the ministry, upon recognizing that they were not getting any financial support from Government, I thought a $135 000 per year subvention would be money well spent.”
Inniss explained that he met with the Cancer Society, the CSS and with drug distributors and was proposing to convene a discussion with all stakeholders to fully understand the magnitude of all cancers in Barbados and the impact they have on the patients and families in an effort to find sustainable solutions to such issues. (LK)?
