Mandatory cancer registry may be resurrected

| 04/09/2017 | 17 Comments
Cayman News Service

Health Minister Dwayne Seymour is greeted at the hospital by HSA CEO Lizzette Yearwood

(CNS): The new health minister has hinted that the proposed mandatory register for cancer patients in the Cayman Islands, which was rejected after enormous public backlash, maybe resurrected. Although Dwayne Seymour gave very little away during the recent Finance Committee hearing when he was asked about the reporting of the disease, he said that he had had some discussions about the issue.Seymour said both the ministry and the hospital still wanted the register, despite the public opposition that caused the law to introduce mandatory registration to be shelved.

Opposition Leader Ezzard Miller asked Seymour if he had considered the idea of making cancer akin to a communicable disease, so that doctors would be required to report it without patient details, which would get round the public objection to a mandatory register. In his response the minister implied that, regardless of public opinion, the issue was back on the agenda.

Public opposition is believed to be largely due to a lack of trust in the confidentiality of the register and fears that the details would be acquired by and misused by health insurance firms.

Seymour dismissed the public fears and said the “public might not want it but the hospital and the ministry does”, adding that it was an issue which was being re-examined.

A recent release from the cancer registry revealed that the voluntary submission of information was beginning to increase but researchers and clinicians were concerned about the lack of information coming from men suffering from the disease.

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Category: Health, Medical Health, Politics

Comments (17)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I know losing a loved one to can we is painful, and the void that they leave behind cannot be filled, because I too have experienced this loss to family member whom I love dearly, but there are some of us in the.cayman community suffering from non cureable illness that can also least to death of not treated properly.
    There are support groups for:
    ALL CANCER IN GENERAL
    AIDS SUPPORT GROUP
    HEART DISEASE OR FAILURE
    AND MANY OTHER MORE,

    But.what about illnesses like Crohn’s disease, chronic migraine caused by inflammation of the brain.

    Where do the the one with the latter illness go for support, assistance or even proper treatment if we don’t have insurance or can’t afford because we’re unable to work, our employer one day just decided not to renew your contract even when they know you’re a good employer and trying to do you utmost best, and the needs assessment unit can assist financially to support your family.

    Those who don’t even get a severance package or can’t get their pension, even though it clearly states that if a person can’t work and submits a letter from the Chief Medical Officer stating that they unable to work, but the PSPB DENIES YOUR CLAIM.

    YET IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES AN EMPLOYEE WHO DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH ACTUALLY GETS A SEVERANCE PACKAGE TO RESIGNING OR INSTEAD WOULD BE FIRED!!!

    FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!!

  2. Anonymous says:

    When will the HSA start talking more Crohn’s Disease or even hire a real gastroenterologist for once. They have more surgeon on staff and internal medicine SPECIALIST, but not a gastroenterologist to tend or at least assist patients like me, who have been suffering with Crohn’s Disease for the past 10 years, and it took several doctors and test between 2007 til 2009 to properly diagnosed me with Crohn’s disease. Since the I’ve had to undergo 2 surgeries.

  3. Anonymous says:

    ganja oil 2019 on our shelves for recreational use

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  4. SSM345 says:

    Gotta love how our Govt. just bends over when the Insurance sector barks.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    The point of a cancer registry is very simple – it can identify hotspots so (hopefully!) CIG can then try to trace a source. When you look at sources of pollution like the dump and the CUC facility there is a very good case for it.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Hopefully OffReg will be putting entities responsible for the protection of the environment, namely the Water Authority under a microscope. Depending on who’s connected to the pollution they turn a blind eye. Lots of places out there where pollution has been either ignored, covered up or simply left to spread. In my opinion everyone in Cayman is at serious risk if these nasties get into our local food supply and drinking water. Ever thought that insurance companies might know or suspect pollution is rife in Cayman and so our rates are proportional to the risk?

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      • Anonymous says:

        All our water, regardless of other contaminant levels, is delivered via PVC pipe.

        • Anonymous says:

          So it seems you don’t know what the blue pipes are made of. Swiss cheese maybe? FYI they’re made of HDPE. Well you’re half right.

    • Anonymous says:

      We are all getting our tap water from PVC pipe, and handling thermal paper (cashier receipts) coated in unbound BPA – with 70% dermal absorption aided to 80 or 90% by wet or chemically treated fingers. Now what?

    • Anonymous says:

      “CIG can then try to trace a source” LMFAO!!!!!!!
      HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! Right.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    I don’t understand why it should be mandatory to report cancer and to whom. If diagnosed with cancer your primary doctor would probably be the first to identify, then your oncologist. What would Government do with the details, what difference iwould it make, the knowledge is always after the fact. What about persons human rights. Instead the Minister should host seminars with people who have the knowledge on the benefit of eating properly, physical exercise, sort out the toxic dump, stop allowing developers unnecessarily cut down our trees.ensure that no toxic waste is leached in the sea and ground water, make it mandatory that all electric lines are buried underground, and requiring CUC to get cracking on that asap. Get real truthful information on the smart meters and they are found to be a danger to health force CUC to change them ASAP. Do a thorough study on the safety of the desalinatied water we are drinking to ensure it is free of anything that would be harmful to our health. mandate that all the harmful spraying of crops are stopped immediately and encourage farmers and backyard gardeners to use safe organic alternatives and to grow more food locally. The Minister and his government should also work on getting rid of mosquitoes with out spraying that poison like they have been doing for years. I believe that is one of the main reason why cancers are so prevalent in the Cayman Islands . I could go on and on but I guess the above suggestions are enough for him to start on. Again I say mandating numbers and types of cancers will serve no purpose and the insurance companies will have a field day.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Try not to laugh but, what is there that prevents the hospital from keeping their own patient statistics (or collecting money due to them)?!? It’s always someone else’s problem.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Think about this…..You get cancer, so most surely you will die. And now the government wants you to register. Do you think that is really on your mind ?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Many forms of cancer are superficial and are removed by simple out-patient procedure. These “survivors” don’t require chemotherapy, or get to know an oncologist, and they continue to go about their normal lives. The insurance industry wants to know who they are. They want a list of names and all stats that support higher rates. It’s what they do.

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      • Anonymous says:

        agree. We all have cancer cells in our bodies at all times. Our bodies successfully take care of it. Many cancers cause no problems left alone. It becomes a problem when one starts poking around “looking” for cancer. For some reason cancer cells just love that and start to multiply.
        A friend of mine who had NH lymphoma had refused all treatments after his first chemo, and lived with one kidney 99% blocked by a tumor, which he refused to remove, quite a normal and even happy life for 7 years. He had an extraordinary mind and mastered the art of visualization as a cancer fighting tool. He died in a mountain climbing accident.
        I have seen women going nuts with radiation, chemo and surgery after just a few cancer cells were found in their breasts. Then they call themselves a “survivor”. Fear is a real killer when it comes to cancer. One can’t think rationally after a diagnosis. Unfortunately doctors just add fuel to the fire instead of providing much needed emotional and mental support.
        There are of course aggressive cancers, but even then, there are plenty of cases of full recovery. It is the state of your mind that determines an outcome. Acceptance is the first step. Addressing your fears is the second. Everything else comes after that.

        So reading/listening to the people who successfully overcame cancer is very inspirational.

        Here are just few:

        -Dying to be me! by Anita Moorjani (book or many interviews on Youtube, Lilou Macé TV, etc.)

        -‘What is Disease?’ by Neil Patel, from the UK, the founder of Chi Kri Yoga (As a young adult, Neil was diagnosed with cancer and faced a leg amputation).
        http://www.chikri.com/productsdetails.php?catId=19&prodId=40

        -“Crazy Sexy Cancer” by Kris Carr (diagnosed at 31yo with a rare and incurable stage IV cancer ) .There is a full length documentary about her ordeal.

        Their stories are very powerful.

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    • Anonymous says:

      we most surely will die, all of us. Cancer is not a death sentence these days. It is, if you follow the barbaric 3 – SRC- chemo, surgery and radiation. Your body can recover from cancer. If you know what to do, who to listen etc.
      Meantime, a cancer registry, set up properly (no real names, but some assigned #), would help to identify the prevalence of cancer in this country. This would give people a choice, to stay or leave. My concern is that it could be circumvented if it looks very bad. Also, those who got cancer and left the country-how do you count for them?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Imagine this scenario. You might find cancer registry data very useful in mitigating risk to yourself and your children. Suppose you had close family members or friends that died from cancer and you could actually correlate their cancers with data showing where they lived, what they ate, what they drank and where they might have been exposed to known carcinogens. Wouldn’t you find this tremendously helpful?

      The Cancer Registry by design is not accessible to insurance companies, you obviously didn’t read previous posts about this. Then again if you prefer to bury your head in the sand and hope for the best, good luck and good day to you sir/madam!

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