Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 30, 2016 News
By Sharmain Grainger
Human beings throughout the centuries have mastered many incredible feats. Many of these are evident in the arena of health care. For instance, a pill or two could help bring an end to an overwhelming headache, and even more daring, a baby could be conceived in a test tube then placed into the womb to develop.
There are many more amazing accomplishments in health such as cures for a number of diseases. A number of dreaded diseases have been known to inflict some of our people right here in Guyana.
Because there is no possibility of redemption when some diseases reach a certain stage, many health professionals urge that persons seek to safeguard themselves by taking necessary precautions.
But then in the case of chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) prevention may not always be possible. For example, in the case of cancer, some persons could be more predisposed to it because it is in their genes. This simply means that a woman’s mother and grandmother before her had the disease, and therefore there is a great likelihood that she will develop the disease at some point in her life too.
In such cases, health professionals have urged that women as well as men take responsibility for their health by paying keen attention to their bodies and seek to undergo annual medical examinations. This is important, since once detected early, cancer for instance can be cured. Many health workers over the years have lamented the fact that far too many people are afflicted with cancer when it is far too late. This state of affairs has been linked to the fact that cancer, during its early stages, is usually painless, and its manifesting signs and symptoms are often taken for granted.
The manifestation of cancer could be very simple things that can be easily overlooked. Possible symptoms of cancer can include an unusual lump or swelling at any part of the body, a persistent cough, and of course coughing blood is a sure sign that something is wrong, as would be blood found in your urine or faeces.
Other symptoms that have been associated with cancer have been unexplained weight loss, a new mole or a mole that relocates, as well as night sweats, unusual breast changes, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, persistent heartburn or indigestion. These are just a few of the known symptoms that have been associated with cancer.
Certainly the manifestation of such symptoms will not always be as a result of cancer, but ensuring that you seek medical attention to dispel this is important, since early detection could help save your life.
Many health professionals have over the years distressed that too many people present with advanced stages of cancer, at which point little or nothing could be done to help prevent their condition from deteriorating. Palliative care is often the only option offered at this point.
However, given the fact that there continue to be advances in health care, the possibility exists today that even at the advanced stages of cancer, patients could have a fighting chance.
Well this is according to information that came to my attention recently. In fact it was an official involved in the field of oncology who spoke of plans that could see Guyana investing in a cancer treatment that could cure cancer even at an advanced stage. The official disclosed that while the treatment could be most efficient if administered at stages one and two, the possibility of patients being offered the treatment at later stages and being effective is not impossible.
The treatment has reportedly been introduced in Jamaica and has yielded laudable results.
But what the official intimated is that the cost for the treatment currently being discussed could be as much as $6.5 million per cycle for one patient. While there is evidence to suggest that the treatment could help and even cure patients with stage four cancer, the official noted that it would require as much as 18 cycles for it to be successful.
Our health sector would undoubtedly be in a bind to make available such costly treatment, especially since there are other diseases that cost a pretty penny to cater to such as kidney failure, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and of course, there are the other aspects of health care that require their fair share of funding in order to keep the people of this nation alive and well as far as possible.
But according to the official, who has seen far too many people die from cancer-related complications, Guyana should not shy away from this treatment, since the ability to save even one life would mean one less mortality being recorded.
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