Barbados’ high number of new cancer cases for a population of just over 270 000 is of concern to a leading United States specialist, who says too many women are delaying testing and screening while modern innovations are rapidly changing treatment outcomes.
That warning came yesterday from Dr John P. Diaz, who said Barbados and the wider Caribbean have to move with greater urgency to detect cancers earlier, reduce fear surrounding diagnosis and make better use of tools already available.
He was speaking at a press conference at Hilton Barbados Resort ahead of this weekend’s annual meeting of the Caribbean Gynaecologic Cancer Society, where regional and international specialists will be discussing women’s cancer care and emerging treatment options.
“Specific to the Caribbean, one of the challenges that we’re having is we’re seeing a rise in cancer cases. Barbados in particular has over 1 000 new cancer cases a year for what is still a relatively small population, and that ratio is actually higher than many other parts of the world,” he said.
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