In a vulnerable personal appeal rooted in devastating family experience, St. Kitts and Nevis Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene is urging all men to prioritize regular prostate cancer screenings, following his own brother’s late-stage diagnosis that could have been caught earlier with routine care.
Greene opened up about his family’s journey last week while officially unveiling plans for St. Paul’s annual Health Month, a month-long public health initiative scheduled for October this year, centered on the empowering public health theme “Know Your Numbers, Own Your Health.”
The minister shared that his brother Said had seemed outwardly fit and physically active for months before his diagnosis, with no obvious warning signs that would have prompted him to seek testing. By the time the cancer was detected, it had already progressed to stage four, an advanced form of the disease that drastically reduces treatment outcomes. “When he found out, he was already at stage four,” Greene confirmed in his remarks.
Despite the grim diagnosis, Greene expressed gratitude to the clinical team leading his brother’s care, and commended Said for the remarkable resolve and discipline he has maintained throughout his ongoing treatment. The difficult experience, Greene emphasized, offers a critical lesson for all people: delaying routine health screenings and avoiding uncomfortable health conversations can have life-altering consequences.
“If you are able to catch it — as the saying goes, nip it in the bud — you just might be able to save life and all that goes with life,” he explained.
Greene also noted that a cancer diagnosis extends far beyond the patient, rippling through entire families, friend groups, and local communities, a lesson his family learned years earlier when his sister received a breast cancer diagnosis that shook their entire household.
This year’s St. Paul’s Health Month will bring a wide range of accessible preventive care services directly to local residents. Beyond prostate cancer screening, attendees will be able to access free or low-cost checks for key health metrics including blood pressure, blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and body mass index, as well as screenings for other common forms of cancer.
In a shift from previous years’ programming, organizers are integrating preventive health services directly into community faith spaces, offering screenings and health education to congregations immediately after worship services. The new outreach model is designed to remove common barriers to access, from transportation hurdles to the stigma that keeps many men from seeking prostate care, eliminating any excuse for skipping critical preventive checks.
“There must be no excuse by the people where their health is concerned,” Greene stressed.
The minister shared his disappointment that turnout for prostate screenings has remained consistently low in previous iterations of Health Month, noting that far too many men continue to put off routine care out of discomfort or procrastination. He urged all local residents to integrate regular preventive health checks into their ongoing self-care routines, warning that late detection is directly linked to far more severe health outcomes.
“We see too many instances of amputations, too many instances of persons afflicted by things that they can control,” Greene said, linking preventable severe health complications to delayed screening and diagnosis.
A full detailed calendar of Health Month events, locations, and service offerings is expected to be released to the public in the coming weeks.