MINORITIES Doctor discusses health-care issues

Minorities need to change to adopt healthier lifestyles, a doctor said.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Getting information out into the community is key to solving a lot of the health problems that affect minorities more than whites, said Dr. Earnest Perry, a longtime surgeon.
Sessions like this are important in spreading the message, Perry said at Friday's Youngstown/Mahoning Valley Minority Health kickoff luncheon at Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana.
It also is important to seek medical help and then pay attention to the doctor's instructions, said Perry, chairman of the department of surgery at Forum Health Northside Medical Center.
Perry, who grew up on Youngstown's South Side and graduated from Youngstown public schools and Youngstown State University, talked about the disproportionate affects diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and HIV/AIDS has on the minority community.
"We [minorities] have to learn to change our lifestyles ... to get away from so many fatty foods, and exercise more," said Perry, who is black.
Getting needs met
He said the United States is the richest nation in the world, but there are still people who face the decision of whether to go to the doctor or buy food for their children and pay bills.
He said there is a two-tier system under which the rich can always get their health-care needs met.
But even for the have-nots, he said help is available if they "cry out for help. There are a lot of agencies out there to help. Someone will hear you."
It is important to recognize the symptoms of diseases, and once alerted, to get help.
If nothing is done, diagnosis of the disease will come later rather than sooner, and the chances of devastating complications -- such as loss of sight or limb amputation with diabetes -- or death are greater, he added.
Stroke, which is caused primarily by high blood pressure, is the third-leading cause of death in all people, but black Americans are 40 percent more likely to die of stroke, Perry said.
"We have to stay on our medications. I've heard brothers say, 'It messes up my sex life,'" Perry said. If that happens, go to the doctor and ask to be switched to a medicine that doesn't have the same effects, he added.
Early diagnosis
No one has conclusively answered why blacks are so vulnerable to cancer, but the reason they are more likely than whites to die is late diagnosis, Perry said.
Women should get regular PAP tests and annual mammograms and do monthly breast self-examinations. Men should be tested for prostate cancer during their physicals, he said.
"If you have a lump anywhere, sores that don't heal, a cold and you stay hoarse too long, or any unusual bleeding, get it checked, get it checked," he said.
Cheryl A. Boyce, executive director of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, urged more people to get involved in the battle to reduce the health disparity gap between whites and minorities. She added she believes there will be a day of health parity in Ohio.
alcorn@vindy.com