Big crowd for free cancer screening

The Associates of the Radio-therapy Centre and Suncrest International Ltd, the local agents for Dabur Pharma in India, yesterday hosted a free one-day breast cancer screening camp at the National Radiotherapy Centre, in St James. In 2003, the camp attracted 300 women for screening. Scores of women showed up yesterday to take part in the camp which was scheduled to run from 9 am to 2 pm. The administrator for the St James Medical Complex, Hayden Alexander, said breast cancer was one of the main causes of malignancy-related death in women locally and worldwide.

He implored all women to take advantage of the screening available. Alexander said with early detection, patients can benefit from all the types of therapy (including drugs) which technology has to offer. Health Minister John Rahael said the National Cancer Registry has identified breast cancer as the most common form of cancer among women in TT. Cancer represents 12 percent of all deaths worldwide. He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has forecast an increase in this pecentage with the number of cases set to rise. While cancer has a genetic link, he referred to the WHO view that one third of cancers could be avoided.

Rahael said based on this opinion, cancer can be characterised as a lifestyle disease. He said Govern-ment was committed to heightening awareness about healthy living through healthy eating, regular exercise and promoting abstinence from tobacco use. He said TT would be implementing a legal framework to fully enforce the Framework Con-vention on Tobacco Control. “Everything that we read and the research has shown that tobacco is one of the most inflicting areas with respect to cancer,” Rahael said. He also said, “the WHO has said most of us are unaware that tobacco is responsible for the onslaught of cancer occurring in other parts of the body, including breasts.”

The ministry was working to provide tertiary care for cancer through the National Oncology Pro-gramme and National Oncology Centre, which will begin construction by the end of this year. Rahael expected it to be operational in two years. He said “some progress” has been made in prevention with all major hospitals being equipped with mammography machines. Janet Worrel-Hicks, president of the Associates of Radiothe-rapy Centre, said doctors will screen  participants in the camp and those found to be at high risk, because of the presence of lumps, would be sent for a mammography test at Western Medical, St James. The cost will be paid by  Dabur.

While the Radiotherapy Centre offers screening for breast cancer, she said it never had a mammography machine and the procedure was to refer patients to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Port-of-Spain, and Sangre Grande Hospitals. Women who have been tested are asked to return with their reports for “follow-up” care. Worrel-Hicks said a “breakdown in communication” resulted in women who took tests in 2003 not returning for additional treatment.