Ministry of Health and Wellness Reiterates Call for Early Cancer Screenings

Persons are again being encouraged by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to get early cancer screenings.

Cancer Programme Development Officer in the Ministry, Dr. Gail Evering Kerr, reiterated the call while delivering the keynote address during the Manchester Health Department’s World Cancer Prevention and Awareness Day event on Thursday (February 15) at the Mandeville Parish Church Hall.

She maintained that “cancer affects all of us”; consequently, “that is why we need to screen”.

“Another thing we want to change is the ‘watch it’ culture where, [if] we don’t feel good… we watch it and see… or [if] my doctor says my pap smear is not good… I’m going to watch it and see,” Dr. Evering Kerr said.

“Cancer just continues to grow and spread if we just watch it; we want to get it before it spreads. As soon as you sense anything, come in and get screened. Cancer is the second leading cause of deaths overall in Jamaica, and most of the cancers can be prevented.

“According to the Global Cancer Observatory, in 2022 approximately 4,000 people lost their lives to cancer. The top-five cancers were prostate, breast, colon, lung and cervical cancer. We have a screening programme for four of those five, so nobody needs to die,” she emphasised, adding that the earlier cancer testing and treatment starts, the better the outcome will be.

Against this background, Dr. Evering Kerr urged persons to “come in, get early screening, stop watching it and start intervention early”, adding that “getting screened and detected early means that lives will be saved”.

Citing two examples, she told the audience that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination can help to eliminate cervical cancer, “if at least 90 per cent of our girls are vaccinated against it”.

Additionally, Dr. Evering Kerr said avoiding smoking and alcohol use can aid in reducing the incidence of lung and breast cancer.

Meanwhile, 62-year-old Trevor Watson, who attended the event, said he underwent several tests because he had not done any health checks for some time.

“I used to do them every year for farm work, but I stopped. So, I just [came] to check everything. I did prostate, cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and all are normal except the pressure, which is two points above the normal,” he told JIS News.

Mr. Watson advised that it is important for all men to do all their health checks because when you reach a certain age, you are supposed to know your numbers, adding that “I did not know mine until I [came to the cancer awareness day event].”

Meanwhile, 53-year-old Norman Williams, who also attended the event and was briefed about the activities, indicated that the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test is among the checks he did.

He, too, encourages Jamaican men who are afraid of getting health checks to do so, pointing out that there is nothing to fear.

Mr. Williams emphasised that “not knowing what’s happening to your body should be a scarier prospect than knowing, because if something is wrong you can tackle it at an early stage”.