Pinktober is here!

Oct 05, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – The month of October is known as Cancer Awareness Month. And it is time that our nation takes a sober look at this disease and its effects.

The statistics themselves tell us why the conversation matters. According to recent reports in the media, at least 704 Guyanese were diagnosed with cancer between January and September this year. Prostate cancer has now overtaken breast cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer, accounting for 31 per cent of all cancer diagnoses so far this year.

In 2024, the country recorded 253 new breast-cancer cases, 200 prostate-cancer cases, 107 cervical-cancer cases and 98 colorectal-cancer cases. Behind each of these numbers is a person, a family and a life changed by the disease.

The figures on screening tell another important part of the story. Early detection can change the course of cancer. In 2024, more than 13,600 PSA tests were conducted across Guyana; 2,607 men had elevated PSA levels, 536 underwent biopsies and 126 prostate cancers were detected. Nearly 10,000 women underwent HPV testing, with 1,755 testing positive. Meanwhile, the Georgetown Public Hospital recorded 147 breast-cancer cases in 2025 and another 107 in the first eight months of 2026.

The message therefore should not be one of fear, but of vigilance. Cancers such as breast, cervical and prostate cancer can be detected before they become life-threatening, and screening gives people a better opportunity to receive treatment at an earlier stage.

Perhaps the most sobering evidence comes from a 2026 analysis of 8,822 cancer cases recorded in Guyana between 2015 and 2024. A study done locally study found that registered cases increased from 525 in 2015 to 1,635 in 2024, while Stage IV disease had a case-fatality rate of 68.1 per cent. The researchers caution that the increase in recorded cases may also reflect improvements in registration and detection, so the figures should not simply be interpreted as a threefold increase in underlying cancer incidence.

But they underscore a message that should be at the heart of Cancer Week: do not wait for cancer to announce itself. Know your risks, use the screening services available, take preventive measures such as HPV vaccination, and seek medical attention when something does not seem right. Awareness is valuable, but awareness followed by action can save lives.

A particularly powerful story from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that of Robert, a husband and father who had no symptoms suggesting cancer. In 2016, however, he decided to have a colonoscopy because seven years had passed since his previous one and his father had survived colon cancer. The colonoscopy, performed on January 10, 2017, revealed tissue that proved to be cancerous. Robert underwent surgery less than a month later. Because the cancer was found early enough, the surgery was successful. Robert later reflected that without the screening, he might not have been there to watch his son graduate from high school or his daughter graduate from college.

Another story is that of McKerrin, who had no symptoms at all when a routine Pap test led to the discovery of early-stage cervical cancer. She had previously had an abnormal Pap result in her twenties, followed by years of normal tests. She happened to have another examination five months earlier than planned because she was about to lose her health insurance. That test detected the cancer while it was still early enough to be treated. She subsequently received a clean bill of health. Her story tells us that me sometimes screening finds something that we cannot feel, see or otherwise know is there.

Cancer is a serious diagnosis, but it should not automatically be regarded as a death sentence. Medicine has made enormous advances in the detection and treatment of many cancers, and people who are diagnosed today can and do go on to live long and fulfilling lives. A diagnosis is not the end of the story. Appropriate treatment and continuing medical care can make a profound difference.

That is why early screening and testing matter so much. Cancer does not always announce its presence through pain, weight loss or other obvious symptoms. Screening can detect changes before a person feels ill, giving doctors an opportunity to intervene when the disease may be easier to treat. Whether it is a mammogram, Pap or HPV test, PSA testing or another appropriate examination, the simple act of getting tested can open the door to timely treatment.

Do not wait until you feel sick. Know your risks, get screened, and act early. Early detection can turn fear into hope and, in many cases, give people something precious: more time.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• cancer, Cancer Awareness Month, cervical cancer, Peeping Tom, Pinktober, prostate cancer

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