16 March 2022
Breast cancer in women is known to be a serious medical concern in the Solomon Islands and the reason I have written so often about the report that the Cancer Unit at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) is without a workable mammogram machine to carry out routine screening of women for early signs of breast cancer.
I have raised my concerns over the issue over several recent weeks and in one of my letters, I requested the incumbent Foreign Minister of New Zealand to intervene and give the NRH a new, functioning mammogram machine.
Today, I read some news released by CBS in the United States which adds to my concerns over the lack of a breast cancer screening programme at the NRH.
In the hope that my renewed health concerns for breast cancer screening will see the gift or the donation of one or more mammogram machines for the NRH’s Cancer Unit, I will share the following concerning news report
Quote.
A recent study found at one cancer center in California, a drop-off in cancer screenings during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic may have led to an increase in people presenting with advanced breast cancer. Stage 4 diagnoses rose from 1.9% of cases in 2019 to 6.2% of cases in 2020, said, CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus.
End of quote.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
