Mandeville Hospital’s Haematology/Oncology Unit Providing Easier Access To Cancer Treatment

The Mandeville Regional Hospital’s Hematology/Oncology Unit is  providing easier access to cancer care and treatment for hundreds of patients in central Jamaica.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, who toured the facility on Thursday (January 30), said that the number of patients has grown from five at the opening of the unit in August 2023 to almost 600 today.

The unit, located off-site the hospital at New Green Road, serves patients in the parishes of Manchester, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth, and sometimes as far away as Trelawny.

It has reduced the need for patients to travel to Kingston or Montego Bay for treatment.

“It has really provided an additional opportunity for people to get cancer treatment such as chemotherapy,” Dr. Tufton noted.

“[Patients] are treated in a comfortable environment and return home in closer proximity to the treatment centre, thus decreasing travel distance significantly,” he pointed out.

Dr. Tufton said the establishment of the facility “is part of the expansion of services we are offering in recognition of the… increased rates of cancer within our population”.

The Minister said that cancer is among the fastest growing categories of illnesses in Jamaica.

While noting that hereditary factors are among the causes of cancer, he said  scientific research indicates that consumption habits also put people at high risk.

He listed tobacco consumption, smoking in all forms, alcohol, obesity and eating ultra-processed foods with high levels of sodium, sugar and preservatives, as among cancer-causing contributors.

The Minister commended the team at the unit, noting that his visit was to highlight the Ministry’s expanding services to support cancer treatment and encourage Jamaicans to make better lifestyle choices to reduce their risks.

Noting the rapid growth in numbers at the facility, Dr. Tufton said he would be looking at what could be done to provide additional equipment and enhance the outreach component, so that screening can become a bigger part of the prevention and early detection programme.

“The policy is to expand over time, but this is  a good start; it’s a well-needed idea that has come to fruition,” he said.

Head of the Department of Haematology in the Oncology Unit at Mandeville Regional Hospital, Dr. Jamie Lee Foote, said there has been an increase in cancers in the young.

These include bone and breast cancer in patients in their 20s.

“It is affecting our working population and we have to emphasise prevention, screening and intervention. We need education and more awareness so people can seek treatment faster. Even with pancreatic cancer we have patients in their 30s being affected,” she lamented.

Meanwhile, Director of Cancer Research at Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Dr. Kacey Reid, said the institution was pleased to partner with the unit as part of a shared commitment to advance research alongside treatment.

“Cancer is a scourge on our society and our aim is to contribute through education and research. At NCU, our aim is to establish large-scale cancer cell lines that can be used in interventions to assess their bioactivity. Cancer is a lifestyle disease and what we are trying to do is allow people to be aware of how lifestyles impact cancer risk,” he said.

Dr. Reid indicated that the university will be working with the unit to establish a comprehensive registry, “so that they could stockpile data to be used for studying the bio markers and factors that indicate early risk of cancer.”

The entities will also undertake campaigns to increase awareness about cancer risks.