EDITORIAL
Barbadians will celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday June 20, by recognising the awesome work many dads do to ensure their children know that they care. Whilst many may be wondering what they can do for the men who are fathers and men in general this year, it may be to insist that they do more to care for themselves.
In the past, reports have gladly shown that more men in Barbados have been stepping forward to get health checks and to generally care for themselves, but of course, the numbers could always be better. Men have heard time and time again that they should be getting regular medical checkups, to ensure that they are staying healthy and to pick up on early warning signs of illness. Doctors can easily detect many illnesses in their early stages, such as cardiovascular (heart) disease, diabetes and some cancers. Yet, many men have been refusing to go near a doctor’s office, until it is sadly, too late. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic upon us, the visit to doctors by men may be even less.
Let us acknowledge that for many men, the dreaded health check is the Digital Rectal Exam for Prostate Cancer Screening. Of course, most men will tell you that they are never, ever stepping into a male doctor’s office for such a check. However, as men get older and as they get a few health scares here and there, their perspective about life and critical health checks do change at times and as such, we may see a change in how men approach this whole business of health checks, especially screening for prostate cancer.
Cancer is not the only issue our males need to get tested for. We know here in Barbados as well, that many men are succumbing to end-stage kidney disease. It is said that diabetes and hypertension are often contributing factors and as such, men should take their health a lot more seriously. Too many men are overweight as well, or even obese. We also cannot forget the need to have testing for HIV and AIDS carried out as well. Thus, the onus is not only on women to go forward and get checked for various ailments or illnesses, but men must be more proactive in taking care of themselves.
Now it is a well-known fact that chronic non-communicable diseases account for 80 per cent of total deaths in Barbados. Further, it is said that one-quarter of adult Barbadians have a chronic non-communicable disease and this statistic is expected to rise to one-third, by 2030. Given the pandemic, we no longer have the numerous health fairs around the country that we had in the past, which would allow citizens to get some free testing done. Therefore, it is key for men in particular to be proactive and do their part to seek out care for themselves.
Apart from health checks, perhaps families can use this time to pamper the males in their families and ensure that they take better care of their physical and mental health. For Mother’s Day there has always been a fuss about pampering women and rightly so, but now is the time to fuss with the dads and get them to see why they need to care for themselves more, so they can be around longer for their offspring.