He goes about his daily life with a passion and drive, the still handsome features and winning smile belying the chronic disease he’s been battling for the past seven years

Dr George Phillip, executive director of Sandals Resorts International, fights prostate cancer like the true warrior he is, but not only for himself. He is always willing to use his personal experience as a platform to motivate others and he seizes every opportunity to share pearls of wisdom as it relates to this treacherous killer disease he has been living with since 1999.

“Having a poor diet is the worst ill that anyone can subject himself/herself to,” says Phillip. “There is truth to the maxim that ‘prevention is better than cure’ and so in addition to ensuring a healthy diet, men over 40 should heed the call to get annual prostate check-ups.

“Early diagnosis helps to prevent the onset of cancer and, if diagnosed, men should get a good urologist, be hopeful, cheerful, optimistic and look on the bright side of life,” advises Phillip.

When he was first hit with the news seven years ago, he admits now, it was akin to being kicked in the stomach and he was in a state of suspended shock.

“I was a little careless, perhaps largely due to living in denial when I was diagnosed. I did not manage it properly, but having undergone hormone therapy and radiation, coupled with care, exercise, a drastic change in lifestyle and diet, reducing my levels of stress, and ensuring a rigid regimen of vitamins and minerals, I am not doing too badly,” he says, understating the case.

As he confesses, it was not always easy. “I went through the gamut of possible side effects associated with hormone therapy – hair loss, loss of libido, sinus problems, tiredness, back pain, impotence, bad temper, hot flashes, teasing from my male friends, and sweating in an air-conditioned room.”

Determined, however, to get on top of the problem, Dr Phillip had to go through a radical change in attitude inspired by Michael Milken, the Junk Bond King of the 1980s who, while imprisoned on charges of unlawful security transactions and tax fraud, was diagnosed with cancer.

“He was given six to nine months to live and sent home to die. He is still alive today, doing philanthropic work. He has managed to raise the profile of prostate cancer significantly, increase funding dramatically to fight the disease, spur innovative research, attract new people to the field, get myriad drugs into clinical trials, and, as one article put it, speed up science,” Phillip, Grenadian-born and Trinidad-raised, notes.

According to Phillip, this has spurred a radical change in his attitude, to which he credits his survival. “It’s all about the attitude,” he says. “Having a positive, determined and disciplined approach, coupled with the amazing spiritual support from prayer warriors who consistently plead my case to the Man above, are sure ingredients for survival.”

He is also a strong proponent of relaxing and enjoying life with family, friends and co-workers. “In other words, reduce the tension through a proactive lifestyle change with positive thoughts, kindness and generosity of spirit, aided and abetted by a constructive exercise programme. This may not cure prostate cancer, but it will certainly reduce the stress and strain of the experience and improve the quality of your life.”

Still, Dr Phillip has slowed down considerably since his diagnosis, having led an extremely active pre-cancer life. He has made quite a mark in Jamaica as a human resources development practitioner, real estate marketer/developer, training expert, industrial relations specialist, counsellor, negotiator, motivator, and author.

This country, not the land of his birth – you can hardly tell – but one he holds very dear and in which he has resided for close to four decades, has on countless occasions, acknowledged his remarkable contributions.

In 2002, he was one of 29 recipients of Jamaica’s fifth highest honour, the award of Officer of the Order of Distinction (Commander Class, CD). He has also received numerous awards and citations from a wide cross-section of business organisations and institutions, recognising his immeasurable contributions to education, advertising, service, and business management.

Yet, despite these achievements, Phillip remains modest and unassuming, rarely, if at all blowing his own horn. This endearing quality is attributable to his rather modest upbringing and his refusal to deny or forget his past.

After a successful, though sometimes turbulent life in Trinidad, he moved to Jamaica with his Jamaican wife, Janet, and their young child on June 1, 1970. It did not take long for Phillip to establish himself in his chosen home and he credits much of his success to mentoring from the late Carlton Alexander, the legendary Grace, Kennedy and Company man.

Soon enough, his business exploits caught the keen eye of chairman of Sandals Resorts International, Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, who invited him in 1999 to join his team as group co-ordinator responsible primarily for the operations of his personal office. In short order, Phillip was made managing director of Caribrake, followed soon after by a promotion to deputy chairman of both Caribrake and ATL Automotive.

He left the company in 1993 to join the now defunct Corporate Group, then headed by banker Delroy Lindsay, and through this partnership he forged an alliance with both Lindsay and Stewart resulting in the creation of the Jamaica Observer, which was born in 1992 and published its first issue on March 7, 1993.

Four months later, he went back to the ATL/Sandals Group of Companies, this time as managing director of the fledgling Observer. Phillip was directly responsible for taking the paper from a weekly publication to a daily, working as CEO for the next five years. After this five-year stint, he was transferred to the head office of Sandals Resorts International where he is employed as executive director with direct oversight for the newspaper company and special projects.

Dr Phillip has sat on several national boards, commissions of enquiry, chaired the advisory committee for the transformation of the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST) to the University of Technology (UTech), authored a book The A – Z of Industrial Relations at the Workplace (which is currently being revised and updated) and is a member of the Rotary Club and the boards of Guardian Holdings Ltd in Trinidad, Guardian Life (Jamaica), the Observer, West Indies Alliance and RBTT (Jamaica).

He also served as a member of the Public Services Commission for 10 years and is currently in his second term as a member of the Police Service Commission.

He continues to enjoy sports, not in a participatory way, but as an onlooker, has not curtailed his travels around the world and is planning a trip to the Mediterranean in the summer.

His continued presence on the boards of various enterprises keeps him energised, Phillip says, adding: “They provide me with new knowledge, keep me stimulated, focused and up-to-date on current business trends.”

In addition to this, his spirit of altruism extends to sponsoring three children, providing well-needed funding for their education.

Truly, this Dr George Phillip is a man of and for the season. His word of advice, which he himself is unapologetically putting into practice is simply: “Live life and never turn your back on anyone who genuinely needs your help.”