User:Brendaram/sandbox

Breast Cancer: Major Public Health Concern

The dual-island known as Trinidad and Tobago has the largest incidence of breast cancer mortality among all the Caribbean. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women in Trinidad and Tobago. Two of the factors that contribute to this are factors such as, poor access to healthcare, and the lack of preventative healthcare. Trinidad and Tobago's government provides cancer treatment at no cost to its citizens. Although, in order to access this resource a patient must first see a doctor to be referred for cancer care. This process may be a reason why early detection and treatment is low and also why screening is used more as a diagnostic tool rather than preventative. The result of this is women being diagnosed at a late stage, which could be seen as a factor contributing to the high mortality rate in the country. Chemotherapy and surgical treatments are limited with age, women over the age of 40 are less likely to undergo these types of treatments. A recent breast cancer research study conducted by the University of Miami found that 10.4% of women in Trinidad and Tobago have a gene mutation for the three breast cancer genes, BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2, that make women most susceptible to breast cancer.