GREAT BAY--St. Maarten will enter Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September with free PSA testing, a public discussion on prostate cancer and sexual health, and the return of Men's Health Day at St. Maarten Medical Center. Behind those local activities, however, are Caribbean prostate cancer numbers that continue to give the annual campaign urgency, particularly the number of men dying from the disease.
The Positive Foundation and Elektralyets Foundation are leading the eighth annual “Man UP, Check UP” campaign, together with St. Maarten Laboratory Services, NAPA Auto Parts, St. Maarten Medical Center, the St. Maarten Lions Club and Collective Prevention Services. The campaign, which began locally in 2019, has since expanded to St. Eustatius and Anguilla, with outreach to Saba planned this year.
Free Prostate-Specific Antigen, or PSA, blood testing will be available on three Saturdays, September 5, 12 and 19, from 9:00am to 1:00pm at NAPA Auto Parts locations in Cole Bay and Philipsburg. The screenings are being offered without an out-of-pocket cost to participating men aged 40 and older. For uninsured men, the Positive Foundation, Elektralyets Foundation and SLS are making 100 free PSA testing vouchers available on a first-come, first-served basis. Insured participants will have the testing covered through SZV or participating private insurers according to their respective policies.
The PSA test measures the level of prostate-specific antigen in the blood and can help identify men who may require further medical evaluation. It is not, by itself, a diagnosis of prostate cancer. PSA levels can also increase because of non-cancerous prostate enlargement, inflammation and other conditions, meaning abnormal results should be discussed with a physician and may require additional testing.
On Saturday, September 19, the campaign will move beyond testing with the fourth edition of “Let's Talk About Sex,” at the Lions Civic Center on Suckergarden Road. A Men's Night Out Happy Hour will run from 6:00pm to 7:00pm, followed by a panel discussion from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. SMMC urologists Dr. Ramos and Dr. Rojas, health and fitness coach Solens Dornezon and dietitian Karen Eusebius are scheduled to discuss prostate cancer risk, screening, sexual health, nutrition and lifestyle.
The month's major health event will follow on Saturday, September 26, when SMMC hosts the annual Men's Health Day and Open House from 9:00am to 2:00pm. Men who participated in the September PSA screenings will be able to have their results reviewed, while additional health assessments will include blood pressure, diabetes and HIV testing. Medical professionals will also be available to discuss results and possible next steps.
The local events come as newly released international cancer estimates reinforce why prostate cancer remains a major concern for Caribbean men.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer's latest GLOBOCAN 2024 estimates, released in July 2026, estimate 21,628 new prostate cancer cases in the Caribbean in 2024 and 9,571 deaths from the disease. Prostate cancer accounted for 34.4 percent of all new cancer diagnoses among Caribbean men, making it by far the most commonly diagnosed male cancer in the region.
The death toll is particularly significant. Prostate cancer was estimated to have caused more deaths among Caribbean men than any other individual cancer type in 2024. Across both sexes, only lung cancer caused more cancer deaths regionally. IARC estimated an age-standardized prostate cancer incidence rate of approximately 69.6 per 100,000 and a mortality rate of about 28.6 per 100,000 in the Caribbean.
Those figures mean the regional conversation is not simply about how common prostate cancer is. It is also about survival.
The Pan American Health Organization said earlier this year that prostate cancer remains a significant public health concern across Latin America and the Caribbean despite being largely treatable when detected early. PAHO said mortality rates in the region remain significantly higher than in high-income regions such as North America, pointing to disparities in access to early detection and treatment services as an important part of the problem.
PAHO's broader analysis of cancer mortality has also found that Caribbean countries stand out when prostate cancer deaths are compared across the Americas. According to the organization, all 13 Caribbean countries included in one regional mortality analysis had higher prostate cancer mortality rates than the rest of the Americas, with the exception of Belize, which also recorded an elevated rate.
The latest numbers should be interpreted with one important limitation. IARC's Caribbean regional estimate does not cover every island and territory individually. The population group used for its 2024 Caribbean calculation includes countries and territories such as Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia and others, but does not separately include St. Maarten. There therefore remains no comparable IARC figure showing precisely how many men are diagnosed with or die from prostate cancer annually on St. Maarten.
That data challenge is itself becoming a regional issue. Caribbean health authorities have been working to improve cancer surveillance and mortality reporting, while Saint Lucia launched a new National Cancer Registry in July to improve tracking of cancer incidence, trends and outcomes. St. Maarten has also been working with PAHO and the Netherlands' RIVM this year to strengthen death certification and cause-of-death reporting.
For September, however, the message on St. Maarten is immediate. Men have several opportunities to obtain information, undergo PSA testing and speak directly with health professionals. The local campaign has also deliberately worked to make those services available outside traditional clinical settings, including at NAPA locations, in an effort to reach men who might otherwise postpone a conversation about prostate health.
With an estimated 9,571 Caribbean deaths from prostate cancer in a single year, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month arrives with a reminder that the annual screenings and conversations are tied to a much larger regional health challenge. The question is not simply whether men know prostate cancer exists, but whether they are being reached early enough to improve the chances of successful treatment.
