Noting that this year’s budget allocates resources for the ongoing partnership with the Mount Sinai Hospital of the United States in the area of oncology, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, today said there is now a programme that offers strong support to oncology and he is hoping that more men and women will get screened for prostate and cervical cancer.

Speaking in the Committee of Supply this afternoon, Dr. Anthony said in the case of prostate cancer, it is now the leading cancer among men in Guyana. He said testing is available and men need to step forward early.

“Three years ago, we didn’t have a programme where people could be routinely screened. So we’ve put that in place so that men can go and get the Prostate (PSAs) tests done. Apart from getting your PSAs, if it is elevated, you can now go and get a biopsy done, and over the last year, we did close to 600 biopsies, and about 400 or so were positive. So those men were able to come into care earlier”, he said.

The Health Minister noted the importance of early testing and early detection. He said once caught early, health officials would be able to treat persons and prevent them from dying from the disease.

He said the Ministry of Health also has a very strong programme that covers cervival cancer.

“And with cervical cancer, we are doing both the HPV vaccine and we have switched from Quadrivalent vaccine to a nonavalent vaccine which is the best right now on the market because it targets nine different strains of HPV that would cause cancer”, Dr. Anthony said.

He told the Committee of Supply that the vaccine is available for free in Guyana, and therefore parents should ensure that their children between 9 and 15-years-old are vaccinated. He said the vaccine can be administered to boys and girls, since it prevents various types of cancer including oral cancer, rectal cancer and penile cancer.

The Minister noted that the Ministry of Health’s voucher programme will also continue to support citizens across the country. The partnership with various international health organisations, he noted, will continue.

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