{"id":26847,"date":"2025-03-11T17:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T17:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/?p=26847"},"modified":"2025-03-11T17:33:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T17:33:01","slug":"high-rate-of-late-stage-prostate-cancer-diagnoses-in-guyana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/high-rate-of-late-stage-prostate-cancer-diagnoses-in-guyana\/","title":{"rendered":"High Rate of Late-Stage Prostate Cancer Diagnoses in Guyana"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Kimberly Giddings<\/em>
February 11, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prostate cancer remains the most common cancer among men globally and is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in Guyana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health officials report that a significant number of cases are being diagnosed at an advanced stage, reducing the chances of successful treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical experts identify several contributing factors, including genetic predisposition, social determinants, tumor aggressiveness, and poor health-seeking behaviors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myths surrounding prostate cancer, along with limited access to screening and treatment, have also been linked to delays in diagnosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men over the age of 45, particularly those of Afro-descent or with a family history of the disease, are at higher risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Screening for prostate cancer primarily involves a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test, which measures the levels of PSA in the bloodstream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elevated PSA levels indicate potential prostate issues, though not all cases signal cancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional tests such as CT scans, MRIs, and bone scans are conducted to determine whether the cancer is confined to the prostate or has spread to other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If detected early, prostate cancer can be treated through either surgery, which involves the removal of the prostate gland, or radiation therapy, which targets and destroys cancer cells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if the disease has already spread beyond the prostate at the time of diagnosis, it is no longer curable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treatment for advanced-stage prostate cancer focuses on slowing disease progression, managing symptoms, and improving the patient\u2019s quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prostate cancer that spreads to the bones, particularly the spine, can cause severe back pain and may lead to fractures or paralysis if left untreated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent data show that half of the men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Guyana are already at Stage 4, making curative treatment impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, a total of 15,000 PSA tests were conducted in both public and private healthcare facilities, with 136 men confirmed to have prostate cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health officials continue to emphasize the importance of early screening and regular check-ups to improve prostate cancer outcomes in Guyana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kimberly GiddingsFebruary 11, 2025 Prostate cancer remains the most common cancer among men globally and is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in Guyana. Health officials…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[365,350],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-development","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26847"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26848,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26847\/revisions\/26848"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncnguyana.com\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}