The month dedicated to Men’s Health Awareness

By Gibron Rahim
There are health issues that are unique to men. As we find ourselves in the midst of Moustache November, also called “Movember” and “No Shave November” it is time that we highlight men’s health issues in Guyana. This is vital since men as a group tend to neglect their health.

The Pepperpot Magazine spoke to Dr. Dennis Bassier, Coordinator of the Men’s Health Unit at the Ministry of Public Health, to ascertain the health issues currently facing Guyana’s male population. He noted that, apart from issues that exclusively affect women, men are susceptible to every health condition. “But the ones that are prominent that we try to focus on are prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, male infertility and colorectal cancer,” he said. He pointed out that those conditions are among the most prevalent in men. That is in addition to hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes.

Dr. Bassier noted the difficulty in getting men to manage their hypertension and diabetes. There has been more success in getting men involved when dealing with health issues such as prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction and male infertility, which in their view affects their manhood. He related that male infertility is especially of concern in East Indian communities because the men afflicted in those communities are often unwilling to accept the possibility that the issue might be theirs, and are even less likely to go to a doctor and get a medical check.

Colorectal cancer can be caused by poor dietary habits, according to Dr. Bassier. Persons fail to consume a lot of fruits and vegetables or drink a lot of water. At the same time, they consume a lot of meat and pepper. He noted that the warnings do not register until it is too late. They do not take heed until it happens to them or to one of their loved ones he said. There are also a number of issues that afflict both men and women but that disproportionately affect men. Among them is HIV. “Men are the least tested but they have the highest numbers of HIV infections,” pointed out Dr. Bassier.

PROSTATE CANCER
Prostate cancer is one of the slowest developing cancers Dr. Bassier noted. There are four grades or stages of cancer. Once the disease progresses to stages three and four it is virtually untreatable. “In grade two and grade one, those are the times when it presents with no signs or symptoms,” related Dr. Bassier. Those grades first manifest when a man is in his early 20s or early 30s. It usually progresses to grades three and four in the 40s and 50s. “It’s a very tricky line to walk with prostate cancer,” he said. But even at those late stages, attempts can still be made to operate or administer chemotherapy. However, early detection and treatment drastically improve the odds.

ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
Erectile dysfunction is inevitably treatable according to Dr. Bassier. He noted that once there is nothing physically wrong with a man such as the condition of micropenis or a blockage or bend preventing erection, the problem is psychological. Once a doctor confirms that the problem is not physical, they can then work along with the patient to ascertain the source of the psychological blockage.

Dr. Bassier related that there are also medications and herbal substances that assist erection. However, he said those are only used as a last resort as men have the tendency to abuse them. He noted that there are cases where young men have had heart attacks and investigation by health professionals revealed that they overdosed on erectile dysfunction medication after having consumed alcohol. He pointed out that alcohol is a depressant which prevents erection.

MALE INFERTILITY
Male infertility is treatable to a certain extent. Any attempt at treatment first requires that men go into a healthcare facility. They can first be seen by a doctor at a health centre and then referred to a lab where a semen analysis can be done. The semen analysis determines whether there is sperm in the patient’s semen or whether sperm is malformed, there is a low sperm count or the semen is too acidic or alkaline. “It’s a variety of things,” said Dr. Bassier. The issue can then be further discussed with a healthcare practitioner and a solution worked out.

Dr. Bassier related that colorectal cancer follows a similar pattern to prostate cancer, though it does progress faster. The disease is also more prevalent in older men but it is not as prevalent as prostate cancer. “Once any cancer is caught early enough you can always have surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy or whatever is available at the said point in time.”

The Ministry of Public Health started a men’s health clinic initiative in 2017. The clinics were established in Regions Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and 10. “The clinics are basically counselling clinics,” noted Dr. Bassier. The aim is to get men to go into the clinics and discuss various topics. He pointed out that the topics can be specific to communities, such as talks on malaria in mining communities.

“It’s just getting men to come into health facilities,” he said, “getting them educated or simply educating them for the first time about certain health issues that could affect them and their families and then taking the next step from there.” He related, “We’re trying to work on behaviour change but, of course, behaviour change takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”