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Life goes on: Diallo Rabain, the Minister of the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation, reflects on his recent cancer journey (Photograph by Akil Simmons)<\/p>\n
Diallo Rabain has shared that his recent medical leave<\/a> was due to him receiving a \u201cshocking\u201d diagnosis of prostate cancer.<\/p>\n The Minister of the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation hopes that by opening up about his experiences as a \u201csurvivor\u201d he can encourage men, particularly Black men who are more susceptible to the disease, to take better care of themselves.<\/p>\n Mr Rabain, 53, said men tended to have a \u201cmacho\u201d approach to their health \u2014 often reluctant to talk about it while avoiding doctor\u2019s visits \u2014 but he emphasised that, unlike many forms of cancer, prostate cancer can be eliminated with the help of early detection.<\/p>\n His message to the men of Bermuda is: \u201cYou can\u2019t be the man of the house if you are six feet under.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s OK to be vulnerable and get checked on because other people are depending on you.<\/p>\n \u201cWe [men] can be like cavemen with bats, we think we can beat anything but there are more complications when it has spread to surrounding tissue and into other things.<\/p>\n \u201cIf caught early, the long-term diagnosis is very good. It\u2019s one of the few cancers that can be completely eradicated, so why not take that route?<\/p>\n \u201cI know people talk about the digital rectal exam but blood testing is also one of the ways of checking for these things.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are side-effects that come with the treatments, but think about living.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the side-effects of treatment for prostate cancer can be incontinence and erectile dysfunction, neither of which are necessarily permanent.<\/p>\n Mr Rabain said: \u201cSince this diagnosis, I have been very open and it has been interesting to hear friends of mine who are now saying they have gone through the same things I have gone through.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about a lot but this is one thing that we don\u2019t talk about, which is absolutely astounding.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Rabain, the former education minister who was appointed in his new portfolio after the General Election, gets screened during his annual medical check-ups.<\/p>\n During his last one in September, he was found to have slightly elevated levels of prostate specific antigen, which can indicate prostate cancer as well as other conditions.<\/p>\n Following an MRI scan, Jonathan Makanjuola, a consultant urological surgeon at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, suggested a biopsy, which was carried out on October 31.<\/p>\n By the morning of November 19, Mr Rabain received his diagnosis \u2014 he had intermediate-to-aggressive prostate cancer.<\/p>\n Diallo Rabain, the Minister of the Cabinet Office and Digital innovation, reflects on his recent cancer journey (Photograph by Akil Simmons)<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a significant diagnosis,\u201d Mr Rabain explained. \u201cAnything above intermediate you have to take care of as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing can prepare you for that diagnosis. I remember the day distinctly. I had no signs that this was going on, that is why it was so shocking.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes you realise you are not in control of the things that happen to you. I pride myself as someone who reads all the information and is able to answer the questions \u2014 this was just one question I couldn\u2019t answer and it hit me like a ton of bricks.<\/p>\n \u201cI sat through Cabinet knowing this because I wanted my daughter to be the first person that I spoke to.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did have that conversation and her advice to me was \u2018daddy, just do something so you can be around for me\u2019. That aided me in my decisions going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n On Dr Makanjuola\u2019s advice, Mr Rabain opted to have his prostate removed and was fortunate to get an operation scheduled at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, by December 17.<\/p>\n \u201cI talked to my family about the prep I needed to do before and I had a conversation with my ministerial colleagues and the Premier, deciding who would be standing in my stead. It was a bit of a whirlwind for me.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mr Rabain underwent a robotically assisted surgical procedure called the Da Vinci Method that makes small incisions to the abdomen and cuts the prostate out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt went fine and I was up and walking about two hours after surgery,\u201d he beamed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe operation was at about 2pm and I was discharged the next day at noon. The doctor described it as like doing a thousand sit-ups in a row \u2014 and he was not lying.\u201d<\/p>\n While Mr Rabain was told he would be in Baltimore for about 12 days, he was cleared to fly back to Bermuda on Christmas Eve, a week after his operation. He was overjoyed to be able to spend Christmas with his daughter, Layla.<\/p>\n Diallo Rabain pictured with his daughter, Layla Rabain, a little over a week after he received surgery to remove his prostate (Photograph supplied)<\/p>\n \u201cI was in bed but she was fine with that. We did get up and put on our matching pyjamas to take our annual picture, so I was happy I was still able to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cI am in relatively good shape, so I should recover faster than normal.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Rabain said the recovery and side-effects scared most men.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThe removal of the prostate is a trying time for a man. There is no written rule with the healing. Some take years, some months, some take weeks \u2014 it varies from person to person.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I did mine early and did the da Vinci Method, they were able to spare all nerves and there are exercises you can do to strengthen various muscles.<\/p>\n \u201cI can happily say that the biopsies that were done here were identical to the biopsy results at Johns Hopkins. Every diagnosis I got here was spot-on. It gives me confidence in our system.<\/p>\n \u201cDr Makanjuola is a godsend on this particular disease. He\u2019s an expert in it and has brought a lot of awareness to Bermuda while advocating for a new standard of insuring.<\/p>\n \u201cPreviously, with my PSA, they would have said OK, we will monitor it, but he has produced a checklist that says if you are this age and you are here, it is best you get these additional things done just to be sure.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Valentine\u2019s Day, my PSA was at 0.001, which means I am cancer free.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I have to get screened every three months for about two years, then every six months and then once a year.<\/p>\n \u201cI am physically healed but not mentally healed from it. There is still that long way to go in terms of the other stuff that needs to happen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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