A total of 46 patients lost the battle to cancer in Guyana, with breast cancer being the leading diagnosis of the 314 cancer patients registered for 2015.
The 2015 report from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Oncology Unit, which was released in observance of World Cancer Day 2016 on Thursday, disclosed that breast cancer continues to top the list of recorded cancers in the country with 125 diagnosed patients, followed by cervical cancer with 47 diagnosed patients, ovarian with 26, adeno endometriosis (uterus/womb) with 15, colon with 14, lymphoma with 10 and rectum with nine.
Other recorded cancer diagnoses in Guyana are lung, tongue, prostate, nephrotic estoror, vulva, adenocarcinoma of liver, thyroid, tonsil, oropharynx, bladder, oesophagus, stomach, maxillary sinus, shoulder, testicle, gastric, hip, alveolar rhadomyosarcoma, gall bladder, ankle, thigh, anal, face, right pyriform, neck, elbow, maxillary papilloma, unknown primary paritonral metastasis, mediastinal, leukaemia, supraglottis and laryngeal.
According to the report, of the 314 recorded patients, only 98 are currently on treatment.
At a commemoration ceremony of World Cancer Day at the GPHC on Thursday, Director of Disease Control Dr Morris Edwards explained that females are 1.5 times more likely than males to be diagnosed with cancer. He noted too that females are more likely to be diagnosed at younger ages.
Dr Morris also disclosed that during the period 2003-2012, 6518 cases were recorded and of this amount, approximately 5000 of these individuals were never treated.
