Dr. Darren Bruck addresses men's health seminar at the St. Kitts Marriott

Baptist Health International Center of Miami partnered with Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and the St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Health to host the seminar, which was titled, "Sexual Desire, Drive and Dysfunction: Preserving Your Health at Any Age."

The Observer followed up with Dr. Bruck to find out how he felt event attendees responded to his presentation and message.

"I was really surprised and impressed at the level of interest," he said. "It was encouraging to see so many men willing to come out and utilize the forum to talk about such sensitive issues."

Bruck wryly noted that it was common for male patients to end up being literally forced to visit his urologist's office by their wives. In light of that fact, he was pleased that his visit to St. Kitts and Nevis was so well received, and that the event helped to build public awareness regarding men's health issues.

At a time when the Ministry of Health is specifically targeting the Federation's men through an ongoing series of outreach clinics, Bruck's primary message of 'preventive maintenance' was indeed opportune.

"The most important take-home point for the men in the audience was to be screened once a year by a physician for prostate cancer," he said, further noting that the same standard of care should be applied to erectile difficulties as well.

"Erectile dysfunction is a vascular disorder which can be a predictor of heart disease. We're trying to get men to view erectile problems as a sign that they could possibly suffer from more serious disorders, such as heart disease, in the future, so its something they need to pay attention to."

When asked about the prevalence of prostate cancer seen in males of African descent, Bruck advanced the theory that there might be a genetic connection, and that susceptibility to the disease could be an inherited condition, though such a link has not been definitively established yet by medical research.

On the subject of natural remedies, there is only a single alternative medicine that has been proven to have a beneficial impact on prostate cancer, according to Bruck.

"One phytotherapy treatment that seems to work is saw palmetto," he informed. "It's the one that's been studied the most, and the one that's truly been shown to truly have a scientific benefit. There are research studies that have demonstrated improved urinary flow and symptoms with the use of saw palmetto. … There are also a host of other treatments out there but none of them have been proven scientifically to be of the same therapeutic value as pharmaceutical drugs, such as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis."

In addition to the noted medications, treatment of erectile issues oftentimes involves counseling men to let them know that they are not alone in dealing with the malady, but that it is a common problem experienced by many others.

"Erectile dysfunction is a multi-factorial condition," said Bruck. "There is a physical aspect to it, but also a psychological effect when men start to have difficulties and get stressed about it."

Due to technological advances, the medical treatments available to sufferers of prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction have taken great strides forward.

"The way that we treat prostate cancer has changed in the past few years," Bruck said. "Instead of performing a traditional open surgery where there is a big incision, we now perform less invasive laparoscopic surgery with the assistance or surgical robots, which has the advantage of a small incision, and much faster recovery.

"The great thing about performing surgery robotically is that a microscopic camera can be utilized so that we can see the muscle and nerve fibers that we weren't able to see before. It allows for a more precise incision, and a more accurate dissection. We're really expecting to have greater outcomes; it is an amazing advance."

Kathleen Tuitt, responsible for Baptist Health International Center of Miami's Caribbean Marketing and Development, attended the April 15 seminar, and was instrumental in setting it up.

"I have known Dr. Douglas since his first term, when we invited him to come and visit us at the Miami Hospital," she said. "From then on, he has been very supportive. He is a medical doctor, and has a greater appreciation and sensibility for health-related issues."

"It was such a great program," she continued, referring to the men's health seminar, "and he [Dr. Douglas] was very happy with it. He was smiling from ear to ear."

Tuitt informed that Baptist Health has been involved in providing health care to the Caribbean region since around 1995, when services were rendered to the people in the Cayman Islands.

"We have many different relationships with different governments," she added, though noting her surprise that other Caribbean governments have not been as receptive as that of St. Kitts and Nevis.

"Baptist Health now sees the Caribbean as part of their community," she continued, "not just the local community in Miami. If the people of the Caribbean are enjoying good health, then we all win."

A Caribbean native herself, from Montserrat, Tuitt feels that any type of uniform health standard for the entire region would be difficult to enact, given the differing levels of resources available to each island-state, but posits that more regional collaboration would certainly help.

"On a regional basis, the governments of the Caribbean and the ministries of health can get together and they can decide which island is going to have a center for oncology, which island is going to have a center for heart disease, and which island is going to have a center for diabetes," she said. "That way people in the region can travel to a different island to get what they need."

When queried about up-coming health-related activities in the region, Tuitt revealed that another event in St. Kitts and Nevis might be in the offing later this year.

"The Prime Minister mentioned to me that he would like to do something in September," she informed. "He said that the Ministry of Health would continue to do testing, and that they wanted see how many men could ultimately be reached, then to bring it all together in September for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month."

Baptist Health International Center of Miami is a division of Baptist Health South Florida - the largest faith-based, non-profit healthcare organization in the region.