DYK that Jamaica has the highest prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in the world? – Vivienne Stearns-Elliott
DYK that Jamaica has the highest prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in the world? I learned this by interviewing an amazing guest at Baltimore Hope Lodge, where he and other cancer patients who travel long distance for treatment stay at no cost: Trevor, a retired professor who taught in the U.S. for 35 years, felt it best to seek treatment at the Brady Urological Institute and Department of Urology at Johns Hopkins because he had a very high PSA score. Jamaica has an age-standardized prostate cancer rate of 304 men diagnosed out of 100,000 annually with a median age of 72.
Trevor, age 70, invested quite a bit of his savings on travel and treatment in the U.S. Staying at Baltimore Hope Lodge at no cost for two months during treatment not only helped his budget, but he says, “I would have been paying $2,000 per month for a tiny apartment where I’d be all by myself. Psychologically and mentally, Hope Lodge is the best place to be. It’s beyond excellent. The place is super clean and efficient. The staff and the other guests are wonderful. People empathize with you. We’re all in the same boat but different cabins,” he jokes. “This is the best possible situation.”
Not only has Trevor found a restaurant with good Caribbean takeout food near Hope Lodge, but he also has enjoyed reconnecting with former Johns Hopkins colleagues. His academic specialty is Portuguese history, so he is hosting a lecture about Christopher Columbus for Hope Lodge guests. “When I finish treatment, I may start to work on research into Jamaican men’s high prostate cancer rate,” he says.
For more information about Hope Lodge communities across the U.S., see www.cancer.org/HopeLodge