Early detection important

Breast cancer remains the major cause of death from cancer for women in this country, and the number of new cases being diagnosed annually is on the rise.

That’s according to Dr. Shirley Jhagroo, Medical Coordinator of the Breast Screening Programme of the Barbados Cancer Society. She revealed that between June 2016 and June 2017 there were 28 positive cases of breast cancer diagnosed through the Breast Screening Programme, and most of those cases were between stage zero and one, while 10 of them were stage two.

She said while they are hoping not to see as many stage two cases in the future, the reality is not a daunting one, as she noted that in the initial stages of the programme 16 years ago the majority of cases diagnosed were in stages three, four and five.

Delivering remarks at the media launch of the CIBC FirstCaribbean Walk for the Cure 2018 held yesterday at the Bougainvillea Beach Resort, Dr. Jhagroo explained that while the incidence of breast cancer is on the rise, there is some good news – there has been no rise in the mortality rate in this country.
Over the last decade, Dr. Jhagroo said, deaths from breast cancer have remained in the region of nine to 11 per cent, and she credits the Breast Screening Programme with helping to achieve that, stressing that early detection is one of the key factors to ensuring that persons survive their diagnosis.

“Unfortunately breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Barbados and is the number of one cause of death from
cancer among Barbadian women. In the US it is also the most common cancer in women, but the second most common cause of death; and in the UK it is the third most common cause of death. Statistics show however that in all three countries the number of new cases diagnosed per year continues to increase, with a notable increase in younger women – that is below the age of 50,” she said.

Her comments came as she noted too that the percentage of self referred patient attending the clinic is continuing to increase annually and she thanked the sponsors of the event for helping to raise awareness about the programme. The medical coordinator made the point as she said that awareness increases early detection and with early detection, she maintained more lives are being saved.

According to Jhagroo the clinic has seen slightly higher number of women coming for mammograms this year than last year and she is pleased with this turn of events. She revealed that for the first six months of the year, 3468 mammograms were done and 337 ultrasounds were performed and she is hopeful that this trend will continue. (JRT)