GUYANA recently observed Cancer Awareness Day (February 4), which is a day set aside to unite people, communities and entire countries to raise awareness and take action against cancer. It is a global initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).

The theme for this year’s World Cancer Day is “Close the Care Gap.” This theme is indeed apt, given the prevalence of cancer in the world and the high treatment costs, which depending on the stage of the disease, can be prohibitive.

Cancer is a leading cause of global deaths and has accounted for nearly 10 million deaths. In Guyana, almost everyone can relate to someone who would have passed away from cancer, some at the peak of their productive lives. It remains one of the most common causes of premature deaths and a significant challenge to our health care system.

And according to Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, cancer is among the five most common causes of death. Among the most common are breast cancer, cervical, prostate cancer and lung cancer, which sometimes are allowed to develop to an advanced stage before medical treatment is sought.

The sad thing is that in many cases the disease could have been better managed had there been an early diagnosis. In Guyana, as elsewhere, there still exists a fair amount of social stigma associated with the illness. Many patients experience a sense of trepidation and hopelessness after having been diagnosed with cancer. This is not unusual or irrational, given the history of the illness and in some cases the social stigma associated with the disease.

This year marks the final year of World Cancer Day under the theme, ‘Close the gap,’ but the harsh reality is that there is still a significant gap regarding the quality of care between the developing and the developed countries as it relates to equitable access to early detection, treatment and palliative care services. Whatever services are available in the developing world tend to be beyond the financial reach of the ordinary man and women and many are left to the mercy of relatives and friends to take them through the remainder of their lives, as in the case of the terminally ill.

As in the case of several communicable and non-communicable diseases, an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure. As pointed out by Health Minister Anthony, it is important that we take all the necessary precautions to guard against cancer by way of healthy practices. One first step is avoid certain habits that could lead to cancer such as smoking which experts say is a major contributory cause of cancer. Other measures include maintaining a healthy body weight through regular exercise, eating healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding excessive alcohol use.

In addition to the above, there are also a number of cancer-reducing measures. Among these are the vaccination of young girls and boys against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); vaccination of high-risk groups against the Hepattis B virus; reducing exposure to chemicals such as pesticides; decreasing over-exposure to sunlight which may lead to skin cancer and by no means least, seeking routine health checks and cancer screenings.

The Guyana Government through the Ministry of Health has been doing a commendable job in terms of networking with other international partners to upgrade our health facilities and empowering health care workers to enable a much more equitable access to the highest quality of care aimed at awareness and prevention, early diagnosis and timely access to appropriate treatment and palliative care and support.

Plans are well advanced to develop a National Cancer Control Plan to better manage and oversee all cancer-control activities of the Health Ministry. Work will continue in partnership with other stakeholders to increase access to screenings for cervical cancer using Visual Inspection with Acetic acid and Pap smear testing (VIA), which are both a cost-effective and reliable method used in the screening process. In addition, there are also mammography and ultrasound examinations of the breast which are also widely used in cancer detection.

As noted by Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony in his World Cancer Day Message, “Cancer is real, it is serious, it does not discriminate by age, race, sex nor social or economic status. It can affect any one of us; therefore, it is important that we continue to work together for better cancer prevention and control.”