This notebook should have been aired on Wednesday but a medical procedure delayed its broadcast. I had a prostate procedure that lasted all day. The urologist was unavailable for the most part. When some of us were young prostate woes were not talked about. We would hear of men having difficulties with urinating but there was no mention of prostate issues.
Prostate cancer tends to afflict Black men more than any other. It is the same with diabetes. Black people are more prone to diabetes than any other race, more so Black people in this part of the world. Genetic factors are said to be the reason for the high incidence of prostate cancer in Black men. A higher prevalence of certain genetic changes, and a greater abundance of the androgen receptor protein are said to be responsible.
Men are loathe to go to the doctors. Some say that they rather not know. Statistics show that one in four Black men would suffer from prostate cancer. Prostate cancer incidence increases rapidly with age. But many are in denial. The macho men poke fun at the rectal examination.
Last week I decided to go for a complete physical that included blood works. I was found to have an enlarged prostate, something that is common in older men. The Prostate -specific antigen (PSA) reading was high. This is a measurement of the level of a protein made by the prostate gland.
Cognisant of the risk of prostate cancer, I decided to check with a urologist. He informed me that he would conduct a biopsy. He would remove specimens from my prostate and have them examined.
From this point I began to get information from many sources of what to expect. One person told me to buy pampers because I would bleed at the end of the procedure. The truth is so different. None of the things I was told to expect materialised.
I received a local injection in my prostate and the doctor proceeded to remove the specimens. It was an uncomfortable but painless exercise. The good thing is that prostate cancer is eminently treatable. If spotted early recovery is certain.
One of my friends committed suicide by shooting himself in his home because he could not bear the pain in the end.
A relative of mine is in denial. He is said to have stage four prostate cancer but he is refusing to seek medical help. So it is with most men. There are those who experience stricture—an inability to urinate. Some do not even know when the urine leaks out.
Guyanese men do not find it necessary to have regular medical checkups. A colonoscopy is a necessary test to identify colon cancer, something that is fairly common in Guyana. Not many Guyanese men have ever had one.
The cost of medical is said to be free in Guyana but some say that with the same doctors making their money at the private institutions it is sometimes fruitless to seek the medical intervention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The government is giving out medical vouchers but not many are aware of this. The vouchers are worth between $10,000 and $15,000. According to the reports, all one has to do to secure a voucher is to register with the Ministry of Health. This voucher offsets certain medical costs.
There is talk of the government building numerous hospitals and health centres. The question is staffing these institutions. Quietly, the government is recruiting people from some Asian countries and paying them more than the locals.
This is not helping because the locals are leaving thus denying Guyanese ready access to health care. The new recruits have a communication problem with the locals. What makes it worse is that many who seek the services of the Georgetown Public Hospital do not speak standard English.
Imagine the nightmare trying to explain one’s condition in such conditions. The government cannot find interpreters but it keeps bringing in the foreigners.
It has not escaped notice that those who come are racially similar to the local East Indian population from which the government draws the majority of its support. The census would have indicated just how many of these people are in the country but the government is not saying.
It has also refused to release the findings of the census. Guyanese do not know how many nurses and doctors are in the system. There is also no knowledge of the number of medical institutions in the country.
This is of no help to the people who need medical help. People complain of going to the Georgetown Public Hospital and of being made to wait for hours before being triaged. Those who can afford it, go to the private institutions at great cost.
When one considers the wages and salaries being paid to workers it is not surprising to see who seek medical attention at the private medical institutions.
But for all this there are about 23 nurses for every 10,000 population. And most of these nurses are not critical care nurses. Many are nursing assistants. Small wonder that many trained nurses also work at the private medical institutions.
