One of the country’s leading urologists Dr Lall Sawh yesterday said he saw sudden change in the attitude of patients who came for prostate examinations.
Instead of being apprehensive, the men showed a willingness to be examined.
Sawh credited Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s statement which appealed to men over the age of 40 to get tested for prostate cancer, some of whom have immediately taken his advice.
Rowley, at his first public appearance after undergoing medical tests in the US, on Thursday said he was cancer free and urged men over 40 to do a prostate examination.
“Today at the office patients who were scheduled to come in... it was easy to examine their prostate. They told us that the Prime Minister say that we should get examined so they do it. They said they were more motivated to have the examinations done. As they walk in they were saying, okay Dr Sawh, let’s get this examination done today. There was no reluctance at all. The Prime Minister did an excellent job by urging these men to do the test. He reached out to them. And I think they have taken him seriously.”
Of the 25 patients Sawh examined at his private practice yesterday, he said between 15 and 18 came for prostate examinations.
Sawh agreed with Rowley that men refuse the examination because of the macho image they try to project.
He said men generally do not like to be probed.
“Unfortunately this is their mentality. I think it was an excellent way the Prime Minister put the message across. As a matter of fact, I want to commend him for bringing the issue to the fore because we are limited in our outreach.”
Sawh said he hoped that the attitude of men does not become a seven-day wonder.
“You know after seven days they forget everything.
“They come in the office petrified. They don’t want to do it at all. You have to talk them into it.”
Whenever he has a lecture about prostate cancer, Sawh said, women would quicker show up than men, which defeats the purpose.
Dr Michael Rampaul, senior urologist at the San Fernando General Hospital, also agreed that Rowley’s appeal was a wise and brilliant move.
“I want to tip my hat to Dr Rowley for speaking out about the issue.”
Rampaul said while they do not have updated statistics of prostate cancer in T&T “we are finding and discovering more cases...the good thing is that we are finding them earlier and people are becoming aware.”
He said there are three stages of prostate cancer. In the early stage there are no signs. Rampaul said the disease can be cured if detected early.
Agreeing with the PM that cancer was more common among African men, Rampaul said our western diet also contributed to the disease.
For this year, Rampaul said he has diagnosed between 15 and 20 new cases of prostate cancer patients at the hospital and his private practice.
Rampaul said men are lackadaisical.
“They don’t care to go for a check-up. There is a lack of exposure and information.”
Rampaul said women get their pap smears and mammograms done.
“Women are not embarrassed by these tests and examinations. The men they have this macho thing about them...When men come for the test for the first time they are very apprehensive. They have this fear out of ignorance that it would cause pain.”
However, after the examination Rampaul said they realise it was not as bad as they thought.