“AN INVINCIBLE ALLIANCE AGAINST CANCER!”

On Wednesday 21st November at 2.00 p.m. at the Belize Cancer Society Building on Mercy Lane in Belize City, Hon. Jose Coye, Minister of Health, Dr. Beverley Barnett, PAHO PWR, Dr. Alba Mendez Sosa, President of the Belize Cancer Society and Dr. Beatriz Thompson, Ag. President of the Belize Medical and Dental Association  officially launched the Belize Cancer Registry as part of “An Invincible Alliance Against Cancer.”

The main purpose of the Belize Cancer Registry is to maintain a file, or registry, on all cancer cases occurring within Belize in which the general information regarding patients and the clinical and pathological characteristics of the cancers, collected continuously and systematically from various sources, are documented. The registry will provide data for analysis and information to promote research, cancer prevention, early diagnosis and effective treatment.

In Belize, cancer is responsible for more than 12% of all deaths every year! And the numbers keep rising. Cancer therapy is extremely limited in Belize. Mostly patients have to access treatment abroad, often at catastrophic costs to themselves and their families.

One of the main problems is the lack of information to plan a coordinated response and to lobby for resources and support.

At the moment the Belize Health System identifies only about 36 to 40 cases each year – usually when the cancer has progressed to a stage where it is difficult to treat. The World Health Organisation estimates that the average number of new cases of cancer each year in populations similar to Belize should be approximately 143 for every 100,000 population – the implication is that the Belize Health System may be simply missing many of these cases. What happens to them? We don’t know.

Our objective is to develop a population based cancer registry for Belize as part of a Comprehensive Cancer Control Programme which includes Surveillance, Screening (including early diagnosis), Therapy, and Palliative Care .

The launching of the cancer registry is a vital step in this programme. Bringing together the collective strength of these different organizations (MOH/PAHO/BCS & BMDA) is a critical strategy in our response to this major public health challenge.