Cancer still a ‘big challenge’ in Guyana – Health Minister

Cancer continues to be a major health concern in Guyana, with breast cancer standing out as the most prevalent form. This was revealed by Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, during the Ministry of Health’s yearend press conference on Tuesday.

Additionally, cervical cancer and prostate cancer are among the leading types of cancer in the country.

“In terms of cancer, as you know, this is one of the big challenges that we have in our country and again we have done quite a lot of work in terms of cancer care,” the health minister stated.

Breast cancer remains the leading type of cancer among women, with at least 253 new cases diagnosed in 2024.

Prostate cancer follows closely, with 200 cases reported, while 107 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer. Additionally, 98 persons were diagnosed with colorectal cancer last year.

Dr. Anthony emphasised the importance of prevention and early detection, particularly for breast cancer. To aid in this effort, mammography services will be expanded with the acquisition of four mammography machines through a collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Currently there is only one mammography machine operational at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The four new machines will be installed at the New Amsterdam Hospital, Suddie, Lethem, and Linden Hospitals.

“The four machines, by end of January we should have them operational so we will be able to screen more persons,” Dr. Anthony said.

A critical advancement in breast cancer care for last year, the health minister revealed is the ability to differentiate between cancer types through fine needle biopsies.

“That is important because the treatment differs and prior to this year we were unable to do those differentiation and therefore the way that we were treating patients was not ideal.”

For prostate cancer, in addition to the standard (Prostate-Specific Antigen) PSA test, the health ministry has significantly scaled up testing.

Last year, 13,688 PSA tests were conducted across all regions, with 2,607 cases identified with elevated PSA levels. Of these, 536 individuals underwent biopsies, resulting in 126 new prostate cancer diagnoses. Dr. Anthony noted that these numbers are expected to rise as more testing is being done.

In addressing cervical cancer, HPV testing was introduced, with 9,962 tests conducted. Among these, 1,755 individuals tested positive. The ministry expects more cases to be identified through continued routine surveillance.

Colorectal cancer remains a concern, as cases are often detected at advanced stages when symptoms become severe and treatment options are limited.

“We are now working on a programme where we will be able to screen for colon rectal cancer and hopefully we can be able to reduce the amount of colon rectal cancer we are seeing,” Dr. Anthony said.