MINISTER of Health Dr Frank Anthony has said that four new mammography machines are set to be operational by the end of January 2025, thus bringing greater access to screening for breast cancer in Guyana.
The minister made this disclosure earlier this week during his end-of-year press conference where he noted that his ministry has worked with an agency to have four mammography machines brought to Guyana.
Mammography is an x-ray imaging method which is used to examine the breast for the early detection of cancer.
During this press conference, Dr Anthony noted that there was only one such machine in the country and that has been placed at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
However, he said, “We have worked with the International Atomic Energy Agency to get four additional mammography machines into Guyana; those machines have arrived.”
As such, the health minister said that they are in the process of installing those machines.
To ensure better access to screening across the country, he disclosed that one of the new machines will be at the New Amsterdam hospital, for persons in Regions Six and Five to have access to same.
Another will be in Lethem and this he noted will be the first time people in that region would be able to access mammography.
The third will be at Suddie and the other at Linden.
Against this backdrop, he affirmed, “And these by January, end of January, we should have them operational, so we would be able to screen more persons to see whether they are detecting breast cancer.”
Dr Anthony also noted that breast cancer remains the number one cancer among women in Guyana, with some 253 persons identified who were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024.