Black Immigrant Daily News

Why would you bother going to the doctor if you aren’t sick? Generally, men avoid going to the doctor, skip more suggested screenings, and only go when they are really ill. They tend to spend more years of their lives in poor health than their female counterparts and have a five-year shorter life expectancy.

Preventive checks, or health screenings, are important to discover diseases before they become symptomatic and when treatments are most successful. Many men ignore their prescribed annual physical checks, which get increasingly dangerous as they age.

Here are the five screenings all men should be getting.

Cholesterol screening

High cholesterol is a major issue in men, thus men over the age of 20 should have their fasting lipoprotein profile evaluated every four to six years. This medical test examines your levels of good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol to identify if you are at an increased risk of heart disease. For men over the age of 40, every five years is a decent rule of thumb to follow, unless you have consistently high cholesterol readings that necessitate more frequent testing.

STD test

It’s a good idea for a man to get tested for STDs as soon as he starts having sexual relations. Many STDs go unnoticed for years, even after a man has been in a monogamous relationship or has been celibate for a long period. This screening is strongly advised for young men in their teens and twenties, as well as men of any age who have had unprotected sex with a new partner with an unknown sexual history. In addition, depending on your level of sexual activity and the number of partners, many doctors will advise you to get tested for HIV on a regular basis.

Colonoscopy

Colon cancer is deadly cancer for men. A colonoscopy is advised every ten years beginning at the age of 45 for persons at average risk of colon cancer. Due to an increase in colon cancer among younger persons, the American Cancer Society recently reduced the age for a standard first colonoscopy from 50 to 45. The doctor uses a scope to examine the inside of your colon during this surgery. This screening can not only detect cancer, but it can also prevent it if pre-cancerous cells are discovered and eradicated.

Liver enzyme test

Liver enzyme testing is part of routine blood work and tests for liver damage caused by a variety of factors, including alcohol. After all, men consume more alcohol than women on average. It is critical for males to have these enzymes tested since they can become elevated as a result of over-the-counter medications, alcohol intake, inflammatory illnesses, thyroid abnormalities, obesity, and various toxicities.

PSA test/Digital rectal exam

Prostate cancer affects approximately 1 in every 8 men during their lives. The PSA blood level test, together with digital rectal exams (DREs), is the most effective approach to diagnosing prostate cancer. Every man between the ages of 50 and 70 should have a yearly checkup. PSA testing should begin at the age of 40 if a man has a family history of prostate cancer or unknown history.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Three Jamaicans are among four men charged after the boat in which they were travelling was intercepted by the Cayman Islands Coast Guard on Saturday.

All four are charged with being concerned with the importation of ganja.

They appeared in court on Monday 7 November and the Jamaican nationals were remanded in custody, while the West Bay man was offered bail. The four will next appear in court on 6 December.

One of the parcels of ganja recovered by the police.

According to a statement from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, shortly after 12:00am on Saturday, 5 November, while on patrol, the crew of a Cayman Islands Coast Guard vessel observed a fishing canoe-type vessel approaching the northern coastline of West Bay.

Upon seeing the Coast Guard vessel, the canoe-type vessel attempted to evade the officers but was soon stopped and brought under control.

An initial search of the vessel revealed the presence of several large packages containing suspected ganja, totalling over 500lbs.

The three men who were aboard the vessel, Jamaican nationals ages 35, 42 and 57, were arrested on suspicion of importation of ganja.

RCIPS officers conducted searches of the shore in the vicinity and discovered a fourth man, age 40 of West Bay, who was in possession of several fuel drums.

He was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the importation of ganja. The others were subsequently arrested.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Tobago

Secretary of Tourism Tashia Burris, centre, talks with stakeholders on the opening day of World Travel Market 2022, at ExCel London, England, Monday. Photo courtesy THA

THA Secretary of Tourism, Culture and Antiquities Tashia Burris said the Caribbean must collaborate to grow the regional tourism industry. Burris was speaking on Monday at the opening day of World Travel Market 2022, in ExCel London, England.

On the Tobago Updates programme, Burris said she has attended Caribbean tourism forums and discussions have been held about more unity among stakeholders. She said some of the Caribbean tourism leaders are at the World Trade Market.

“One of things is selling the Caribbean as one destination. They talk about multi-destination tourism – that is something Tobago can begin to benefit from.”

Burris said Tobago does not have the market spend to rival Jamaica and Barbados. She said Tobago should partner with these tourism destinations and take advantage of their more mature and established brand. She claimed it would be a win-win situation for all involved.

“The Caribbean has to understand, we have to start to compete as a bloc and not necessary as individual islands. because we’re competing against destinations in the pacific, competing against destinations in Asia, competing among destinations like a Hawaii. for example.

“When we look at what we can do individually, it’s not as much as if we can get together and collectively sell the Caribbean as a region.”

She said a Caribbean single-entry visa would be required to achieve this. “That has to lie at the level of Caricom heads. It’s something that is critical for the survival of our tourism. One thing covid has taught us, is that we’re stronger together and we’re weaker apart.”

According to a report on globaldata.com, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas were the five most popular destinations in the Caribbean in 2021.

Burris said Tobago has to make a significant investment in marketing to crack previously untapped and unattained markets.

“In order for us to break through the noise, to remain relevant and remains on the minds of people, we have to make some significant investment in marketing.”

She said the aim is to grow the tourism sector into a sustainable industry.

“How do we build out the tourism sector to be a main pillar of the private sector, so the THA doesn’t have to bear the burden of employing the most amount of persons on the island. Now they can depend on the tourism sector to be a resilient pillar of the economy and ensure we can provide jobs that pay a comfortable wage. Persons who have a passion for the sector to gravitate to the sector because opportunities are available there.”

Burris said the THA delegation, which was led by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, also includes Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd (TTAL) chairman Alicia Edwards, TTAL marketing co-ordinator, UK marketing partners, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James, hoteliers from Comfort Inn & Suites, Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, Coco Reef, Tropikist, a Sunshine Tours representative, the Tobago Performing Arts Company, drummers, pannists and soca artiste Adana Roberts.

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