Some cancers are on the rise among young people, according to Jamaican medical experts.
The revelation was made in a webinar, organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare expressly for doctors and primary care professionals, to celebrate World Cancer Day 2021.
Consultant pathologist at West Indian University Hospital, Dr. Tracey Gibson, speaking on Cancer Epidemiology, gave data reporting cancer trends in Jamaica, which also included the cancer burden among adults, adolescents, young adults and children in Jamaica.
“The main cancer in Jamaica is prostate cancer and the rate, according to the survey results, shows that the incidence of prostate cancer is not restricted to men over 60, but actually … men among 25 and 59 have a prominent figure, “Gibson said.
The other major cancers in Jamaican men are lung and colorectal cancers. Both the prostate and colorectal sites are enlarging, Dr. Gibson explained later.
“The cancer burden by age in our male population reveals that the top three types of cancer are highest in all three age groups, namely 25-59, 60-74 and 75 years or older,” said Gibson.
Using the age ranges provided above in the female population of Jamaica, breast, cervix and cervix are the types of cancer that most affect, with breast and colorectal enlargement. Interestingly, it is in the youngest age group that Jamaica is facing the heaviest burden, explained Gibson.
In children under 18, leukemia (blood cancer) is the most common childhood malignancy in both sexes, she said, adding that cancers of the central nervous system and lymphomas (cancer of the immune cells) are also prominent.
According to specialist doctors, cancer in children occurs infrequently compared to adults, but it is very important to know it, as it is one of the main causes of death in children under 14 years old. The data presented indicated that there was a greater awareness that adolescents and young adults are a distinct population when it comes to cancer.
Although survival rates may be higher among adolescents and young adults with cancer compared to older adults, cancer patients in younger age groups have a higher risk of developing long-term effects from their cancer, such as organ damage , infertility, cardiovascular disease and cancer later in life, experts said.
A cancer diagnosis at this crucial stage in life, where young people’s independence is increasing, careers are starting and new relationships are forming can be particularly destabilizing, experts noted, adding that more research is needed to try to understand the rates and causes of cancer in this age group in order to determine more effective treatment options.
“Advances in cancer prevention and treatment methods can have a huge and positive impact on the health of teenagers and young adults in our nation, so that they can gain independence and start their adult lives, not fighting cancer,” said the Dr. Beverley Wright, Director of Health Systems Support and Monitoring at the Ministry of Health.
Wright further stated, “This is why we are especially pleased with the establishment of a nuclear medicine facility at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) as part of plans to advance cancer treatment in Jamaica. The facility is expected to provide improved cancer treatment services to Jamaicans. ”
There are already two world-class cancer treatment centers in Jamaica, located at The St Joseph’s Hospital in Kingston and Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare, through its Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Injury Prevention Unit, recognized World Cancer Day on Thursday, February 4, 2021, with the global theme, ‘Together , all our actions are important – Eu Sou e Eu Vou ‘, with inspiring events, activities, media interviews and discounts on exhibitions through its partners.
All information-driven efforts by the Ministry have helped to raise awareness of / around cancer, as well as to encourage the public not only to screen, but also to develop a personal and proactive screening regime based on individual factors. .
Exam discounts will continue with partners The Woman’s Place and The People’s Medical Lab throughout February.