Cancer fight

Oct 28, 2024 Editorial

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Editorial…

Kaieteur News – As the month of activities aimed at bringing greater awareness of cancer comes to a close it is a good time to examine where we are as a country in the fight against this scourge.

Cancer is a scourge of no mean proportions: seemingly, no part of the anatomy is out of reach of its hostile, toxic tentacles: from brain to breast to bowel, it is same frightening story.  The Pan American health Organisation (PAHO) has said that cancers, are leading causes of death in the Region of the Americas, noting that an estimated 40% of cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyles. A third of cancers can be diagnosed at early stages through screening and early detection programmes. All people with cancer can benefit from appropriate treatment and palliative care.

Recently we reported that over 600 cancer cases have been recorded by the Ministry of Health’s cancer registry for the first half of 2024. Among the cancers identified, breast cancer was the most prevalent with 149 cases. There were 91 cases of prostate cancer, 62 cases of cervix cancer and 57 cases of colorectal cancer. Additionally, 10 cases of ovarian cancer were reported while there were 51 cases of endometrial cancer. Fourteen cases of thyroid cancer, 12 cases of stomach cancer, 10 cases of lung and bronchus cancer as well as uterus cancer and nine cases each of liver and kidney cancers were recorded.

The cancer registry also reported that there were eight cases of lymphoma, seven cases each of bladder and tongue cancers, six pancreas cases and five esophageal cancers. Four cases of brain cancer were recorded while there was one case of acute myeloid leukemia (AML+ALL). The registry said too that there were no cases of bile duct cancer, while 161 cases were classified as “other.” The registry reported a 38 percent increase in cancer cases in 2023, when compared to the previous year. It also revealed a troubling trend in cancer mortality rates, with deaths rising from 443 in 2022 to 612 in 2023, marking a significant increase. Between 2019 and 2020, a total of 565 cancer deaths were recorded. Prostate cancer statistics show fluctuations over the years: 88 deaths in 2020, 81 in 2021, 71 in 2022, and 76 in 2023, the registry disclosed.

Our report stated too that for lung cancer, there were 16 deaths in 2020, rising to 20 in 2022, and then increasing to 29 in 2023. Colorectal cancer deaths also saw a rise, with 16 deaths in 2020, 20 in 2021, 18 in 2022, and 29 in 2023. The statistics showed that breast cancer accounted for 50 deaths in 2020, 64 in 2021, 53 in 2022, and 56 in 2023. Lung cancer fatalities among women were reported at eight in both 2020 and 2021, dropping to six in 2022 before rising sharply to 17 in 2023.

In addition to rise in cases, another factor that constrains patients is that treatment options are limited. It is known that treatment related finances powerfully prohibitive to those lacking anywhere near the means. This is the grimmest of developments in a thoroughly grim set of circumstances. Potential remedies may be there, but they just as well might not be, they are so far out of reach.
Tests alone can run into the tens of thousands; a cycle of half a dozen chemotherapy treatments several hundred thousand and counting on an escalating scale; and an effective radiation programme usually involves dozens of visits, which add up in the six-figure column. It can be overwhelming for most, even with helping local hands and generous overseas-based relations.
For its part, the government, through the Ministry of Public Health, has made some funds available to ease the financial burden. Government has also recently announced vouchers to allow for screening and testing, but this is not nearly enough. As mentioned earlier, this is one expensive illness. There are more than a few domestic and foreign agencies that devote heart and soul to alleviate the plight of the suffering. Still more is needed, and urgently, too. While progress has been made, there has to be a higher priority and sharper focus on what can no longer be characterised as a run of the mill sickness. Too many are dying. Too many are consigned to the harrowing circumstance of a prolonged decline with only four bare walls for company. The well-heeled can pursue an array of options beyond the borders. The less blessed are reduced to ordeal by fire. In silence. In agony. In secret. That is, except for the neighbours who can hear and the families that must swallow hard and bear more.
A structure, more state financing, and a concerted comprehensive approach would be most helpful; more and insistent publicity is demanded. And not only on the nature of the disease, but its frequency; and its creeping scything arc far and wide across an unknowing society. Call and action must come! Now!

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• Additionally, appropriate, endometrial, lymphoma, palliative care, programmes

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