Lung cancer on the rise in Jamaica

 

Director of the Cancer Research Unit at Northern Caribbean University, Dr. Casey Reid, says there is an increase in lung cancer in Jamaica.

 

Dr. Reid says lung cancer is outside the top three cancers in Jamaica which are prostate, breast and colon.

 

He explains that lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoking and air pollution.

 

Dr. Reid is warning Jamaicans to avoid secondhand smoke, noting that it can also cause lung cancer.  

 

"Secondhand smoke is possibly even more dangerous than smoking. So it's very important for persons to be very mindful of these influencing factors as it relates to lung cancer," said the medical doctor, who pointed to lifestyle and nutrition as other contributing factors.

 

Dr. Reid added that the unit is hoping to establish a cancer registry to collect and study research data in order to identify and reduce the causes of the disease among Jamaicans.

 

Dr. Jamie Lee Foote, head of the Oncology Centre at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, has also raised alarm about the number of young people in Jamaica being diagnosed with various types of cancer, noting that these young people are in their twenties and thirties. 

 

 

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has urged Jamaicans to get screened for cancer, stressing the importance of early detection and treatment to saving lives.

 

He said the ministry recognises the growing demand for cancer treatment and is taking measures to expand care for patients with the disease.

 

Dr. Tufton said the Hematology Oncology Facility at the Mandeville Regional Hospital started offering services to five patients when it opened in August 2023, but is now providing care to almost 600.

 

The Health Minister added that the facility serves patients in Manchester and neighbouring parishes, reducing the need for them to travel farther distances for cancer-related services. 

 

"Access is a big part of what we're trying to do. It's the policy of the government as part of the ten-year strategic plan. This is a manifestation in real terms of that access being improved. And the people come here and they get their treatment, some daily, some a few times a week as the regime may dictate and are able therefore after having this environment, a relatively comfortable environment, to return to their home without the distance that they would have travelled initially," he noted.