The courage to get checked

President Dr Irfaan Ali’s call for more men to undergo prostate screening is among the most important public health messages delivered in recent months. It addresses an issue that has long been overshadowed by fear, stigma and misinformation despite the devastating toll prostate cancer continues to take on Guyanese families.
The President’s message was direct, “Men, there is nothing to fear about having a prostate examination. It will save your life.” Those words should become the foundation of a national conversation about men’s health and the responsibility every individual has to seek preventative care.
Too often, men avoid routine medical examinations until symptoms become severe. This reluctance is rooted in a culture that frequently equates masculinity with toughness and silence. Many men would rather endure discomfort than visit a doctor, while others avoid prostate examinations because of embarrassment or misconceptions surrounding the procedure. Unfortunately, these attitudes can come at a tremendous cost.
Prostate cancer remains one of the most common cancers affecting men and as President Ali noted, it is the leading cancer among men in Guyana. Yet it is also among the most treatable forms of cancer when detected early. That reality cannot be ignored. Early diagnosis dramatically improves treatment outcomes, reduces the need for more aggressive interventions and, most importantly, saves lives.
This is precisely why the President’s frustration over the low uptake of screening services in Region Two is justified. The fact that only 335 men have undergone screening despite the service being available is not a failure of infrastructure but perhaps a failure of awareness, engagement and perhaps personal responsibility. Building hospitals and providing equipment are essential first steps, but those investments only achieve their intended purpose when citizens utilise the services that are available to them.
President Ali’s directive for the Regional Health Officer to increase the number of men screened to at least 3,000 before the end of the year is ambitious, but ambition is exactly what is required if Guyana is to change the trajectory of cancer outcomes. Meeting that target will require more than advertising campaigns. Health workers must visit communities, workplaces, religious organisations and social groups to educate men, answer difficult questions and dismantle the myths that continue to discourage screening.
Equally commendable is the Government’s parallel emphasis on women’s health. The introduction of mammography services in Region Two is another significant step towards expanding access to preventative healthcare. For many women, a mammogram costing approximately $40,000 would simply be beyond financial reach. Offering the service free of charge removes a major barrier and reinforces the principle that quality healthcare should not depend on one’s income or location.
Here again, however, availability alone is not enough. The President’s target of increasing mammograms from just over 435 to at least 3,000 by year-end shows an understanding that healthcare investments must translate into measurable improvements in public health. Screening programmes only fulfil their purpose when people participate.
These initiatives also highlight a transformation taking place within Guyana’s healthcare system.
Yet the greatest challenge facing modern healthcare is often not the construction of facilities or the procurement of sophisticated equipment. It is persuading people to make use of them before illness reaches an advanced stage.
Preventative medicine remains one of the most cost-effective and humane approaches to healthcare. Every cancer detected early spares families emotional anguish, reduces the financial burden of prolonged treatment and increases the likelihood that patients will continue leading productive lives.
President Ali’s appeal to men, therefore, should not be viewed as a government initiative or another public awareness campaign. It is a call to confront outdated attitudes that have prevented too many men from taking charge of their health. Courage is not demonstrated by avoiding a medical examination. Courage is demonstrated by recognising that protecting one’s health also protects one’s family.
A prostate examination may last only a few minutes, but it could add many more years to a man’s life. That is a message every Guyanese should take seriously.