CANCER

Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs. The latter process is called metastasizing and is a major cause of death from cancer. A neoplasm and malignant tumour are other common names for cancer.(World Health Organization)

 

In Trinidad and Tobago:

 

• Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest cancer mortality rates in the Caribbean. Between 2001 and 2008, the annual number of deaths from cancer increased from 1,201 to 1,417.

• In 2008, mortality due to cancer higher for men than women

• In men, prostate cancer was the most prevalent (34%), followed by lung (13%), colorectal (12%),

pancreatic (6%), and stomach cancers (4%).

• In women, breast cancer was leading cause of deaths (23%), followed by cervical and colorectal (each 11%), ovarian (7%), and lung and pancreatic cancers (each 5%).