Former parliamentarian Dr Surujrattan Rambachan is urging men to get screened for prostate cancer, days after being conferred with the nation’s highest award, the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr Rambachan has worn many hats over the years. He has served as a government minister, mayor of Chaguanas and ambassador to Brazil, and has advocated for Indian culture in T&T.
As he expressed his surprise and happiness at being chosen to receive the ORTT last Thursday, he lent his voice to another cause.
“I just wanted to say this today: I have been diagnosed with stage four cancer. I made the terrible mistake of neglecting my health as I went along over the last couple of years. Terrible mistake. And now, in a sense, you might put it in raw words, I am fighting for my life. But even so, I am not seeking sympathy from the public for what are my mistakes that caused this, but I have looked at this situation as an opportunity to do something different again.”
Dr Rambachan said that since his diagnosis, he has been visiting various temples and other places to share his story.
“Talking to audiences about the need for prostate testing because once that cancer steps out of the prostate and affects your bone, like me, then you know it’s a long road ahead in order to see whether you recover or you won’t recover. So I have now reinvented another purpose for myself in the midst of this, which is to become a public advocate.”
The recipient of the ORTT noted that, beyond his public life, he has had other achievements, including one of which he is particularly proud.
“I am the first one in the world to have sung a hundred and eight songs non-stop on nine occasions, and that was up to eight, nine hours in order to raise money for charity. I have never used my voice for any commercial profits or whatever. I have always used it for charity. And we are now discovering that that has not even been done in India.”