SIH doctor discusses men’s health at Arnette’s Barbershop

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) – In the African-American community, hair salons aren’t just a place to get your hair cut – they’re also a place to socialize.

Today, prostate cancer was the topic of discussion at Arnette’s Barbershop in Carbondale, Illinois.

“Typically, a barbershop is a place of socializing, a place of community, a place where many men feel safe,” said Dr. Don Arnold. “It’s not that only men come to barbershops, but it’s predominantly men and here we can have real conversations about real problems without being judged or afraid.”

Dr. Arnold is an endourologist and chief of surgery at Southern Illinois Healthcare. He said when talking about such issues, it’s important to meet people in the community to build trust and also relationships.

“Everyone has a different experience with healthcare. Often times the distrust can be word of mouth, it can be someone else’s medical history, or maybe the person has had a bad experience themselves. So I always want to get to the root of the distrust and the root of the fear, because the only way to combat fear is through education,” he said. “So once you know where the fear is coming from, hopefully you can start to build some bridges and relationships and get patients to come to us.”

Arnold said he hopes to continue holding such events throughout the year.

“I hope it’s something we just do and not necessarily just me. I hope other people see this and say, ‘Hey, let’s do general surgery or let’s get someone who does breast cancer, let’s get someone who does surgical oncology,'” he said. “I hope all of my colleagues get involved and we do this year-round and ask the community, ‘What do you want to see? What topics do you think we should be discussing with you?'”

Arnold will host another Men’s Health Series event on Monday, September 16th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Quality Quiz in Murphysboro, Illinois.

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