|
There is no country in the world that has a model that meets the health needs of all of its citizens. This notion was recently amplified by General Surgeon of Caribbean Surgery, Dr. Surendra Persaud, who pointed to the fact that just about any known disease can be successfully treated once detected early.His remarks were forthcoming even as he spoke of the treatment of cancer in Guyana. And according to him, the effective treatment of the disease here will not only require early detection but also the resurrection of the Guyana Cancer Society and the creation of disease-based support groups. These two factors, he explained, are extremely imperative and should be in place to assist victims of the various forms of cancer and even other diseases so that they can cope with their infliction.However,Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Authentic, while such assistance may not extend to financial support, Dr. Persaud insists that awareness is a crucial facet of proper health care. “I always get a little nervous talking about health care and finances; health care is generally expensive and there is no country in the world with a model that can meet the need of everybody but I think if we can address any illness early, the cost could be less.” It is for this reason, he noted, that sincere efforts should be directed to the dissemination of information that would encourage people to do the things that are important to help protect their health.Additionally, the public, according to the doctor, must understand and always be aware that they cannot contract cancer from an afflicted person, adding that “the public needs to know that it is not a contagious disease. “A lot of people walk around saying ‘Oh My God I don’t want to mention the C word’…this kind of attitude is prevalent even to this day and oftentimes the discrimination is on the family side with some persons begging not to have their family members informed of their cancer infliction.”And since there is no question that more cancers are surfacing “we need to be more vigilant,” Dr. Persaud said, even as he lauded the efforts of Avon in helping to raise awareness about breast cancer.However, he stressed that “we can always do better when it comes to awareness, not only when it is cancer awareness month where everybody is talking…We do not do enough outside of these times so more information can always be disseminated,” Dr. Persaud asserted.The treatment of cancer has been attracting an annual medicines cost amounting to approximately $150M. In fact, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, has revealed that the per capita expenditure, that is, how many patients benefit and the cost of cancer medicine is about 10 times the per capita cost of other medicines. “It is indeed far more expensive than treating an HIV patient…the treatment of a cancer patient is extremely expensive,” he disclosed.In addition to medicines provided by the Ministry, Minister Ramsammy revealed that patients themselves are also expending significant sums as well on treatment. “We are not able to meet all of their needs so you could see when you look at the number of patients that are on treatment, about 1,000 patients, and you look at the amount of money that we are spending. We spend almost 50 per cent more than we spend on diabetes medicines where we are dealing with 40,000 people…that’s how expensive it is.” |
|