Cancer crushes body and pride, says Big Stone

Philanthropist Claude 'Big Stone' Sinclair says prostate cancer has stripped him of far more than just his health.

In a raw and emotional account shared yesterday, Sinclair revealed how the Stage 4 illness has robbed him of his strength, dignity and independence, leaving him in constant pain and relying on others for even the simplest tasks.

"It has been a very difficult journey, but I am holding on," Big Stone said.

Diagnosed in late 2023, Sinclair said things got so bad that he checked himself out of a hospital because he was allegedly disrespected by staff. He explained that during that period he was suffering from an intense bout of diarrhoea and ended up soiling himself.

"Several staff and one of the nurses referred to me as a nasty, big fat man," he claimed.

"That really hurt me, because only sickness could have caused that to happen," he added.

Cancer, he added, does not just attack the body -- it crushes pride and shatters self-sufficiency.

Since last September, Sinclair has been admitted to multiple medical facilities as the disease tightened its grip. He is now receiving care through a wellness centre, which he says has pledged to help reverse his illness while providing nutritional support at no cost to him.

The toll, however, is devastating. Sinclair says he lives in unrelenting pain. He has lost much of his mobility and spends most days lying flat on his back, exhausted. At one point, he experienced bleeding. The cancer has spread beyond his prostate to his back, knee and other areas of his body. He describes the pain as overwhelming -- a weight pressing down on him day and night.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, with one in nine facing a diagnosis in their lifetime. In Jamaica, it remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Health experts urge men to begin annual screening at age 40 and to continue until around 70 to 75 years old.

Sinclair is urging Jamaican men to get tested. He believes early screening could have changed his story.

"Early detection does save life because if doctors had early detected my cancer, it would have been contained only in the prostate, and would not have spread to different sections of my body," Sinclair said.