–Dr. Anthony disclosed at Pinktober launch

-by Jordan Alkins

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with One Communication today launched Pinktober 2026, and this year the spotlight is on a surprising shift.

Prostate cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the number one cancer diagnosed in Guyana.

Over 700 cases of cancer have been diagnosed this year with prostate, breast, cervical and colorectal cancers together accounting for 46 percent of that total.

Speaking at the launch of Pinktober Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony revealed that prostate cancer is now the number one cancer diagnosed in Guyana, followed by breast, cervical and colorectal cancer.

“From January of this year to now we basically diagnosed  about 137 new cases of prostate cancer and that is relatively high one of the reasons why  I think the number is what it is because of this proactive program that we have now because we are going out trying to find people and we’re finding them earlier and we are able to make a difference,” he said.

On breast cancer, the Minister noted that a decade ago, Guyana had only one mammography machine, making access difficult.

Today there are at least seven, located at the Suddie, Linden, New Amsterdam, Lethem and Georgetown Public hospitals in addition to machines at private hospitals. However, uptake remains low. From January to now, only 1,667 mammograms have been done, with 6.4 percent of the results being positive.

“The big challenge that we have now that we have mammography machines in place we need to get people to come to do their mammograms. The fight is not over there a lot more that we need to do and everyday we are improving so there that hope,” he added.

During the launch of Pinktober, it was announced that Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital will provide 100 mammogram vouchers to support the screening for breast cancer.

The Pinktober launch is part of efforts to encourage greater awareness, screening and support for persons affected by cancer across Guyana.

Vouchers are readily available to make screening more affordable, with both men and women being encouraged to take advantage of them.