Cancer Institute of Guyana: Helping people saving lives.

Cancer Institute of Guyana Staff

Guyana is a country rich in mineral resources. Gold, diamond, bauxite, copper, iron, nickel and graphite. Sugar cane and rice fields are spread along the coastal lines where majority of its population resides. 759, 000 people are estimated to be living in three counties Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo,  separated by rivers of the same names. East Indians, Chinese and Afro-Gayanese along the coastal line, and indigenous Amerindians in the interiors, are the major races constituting the nation. Mining, fishing and agriculture are the major trades. Government health centers  and Hospitals in the rural and urban regions along with Plantation health centers are inherited from the colonial era. Private Hospitals are thriving in the metropolis of Georgetown due to lack of facilities and skilled human resource in the Government sector. Most of the skilled health professionals migrate to North America and UK creating a vacuum in the country. If a rich and wealthy get sick, there are many options open for them. Traveling to Trinidad or United States and getting their investigations done, getting screened and treated at the same time is a common thing. Unfortunately it is not the same for the poor in the country. Lack of resources and in some cases lack of means to travel let them stay home suffering more and more every day. People suffering especially with common cancers like Breast, Prostate,and cervical cancer, even if make it to the hospital it is already too late and there cancer is in the advanced stage difficult to turn around.

IN far Eastern part of Guyana at Crab o Creek with volunteers of GIRO

Cancer Institute of Guyana was founded in 2006 by George Nella, CEO of a Chicago based diagnostic company Global Imaging, to start providing  cancer patients radiation therapy. A radiation oncologist and skilled technical staff was acquired to start the operation. Since then institute has provided local population, specially the lower middle class and lower class a chance to get treated without spending money to travel abroad for treatment. Still some of the cancer patients are so poor that they can't afford to travel to Georgetown, to get help from the cancer institute, where it is located. It is very difficult for them  even to do simple screening test like PAP Smear and Mammogram. Watching them dying due to lack of little money is terrible. I have witnessed many such patients helplessly surrendering to death. 

Last year I travelled to Guyana with a determination to help those in misery, with a dream to build a cancer hospital, free for the poor. The first step was to help people get initial screenings at CIG (Cancer Institute of Guyana). A fund was created to help them. Up to date quite a few cancer patients are being helped not only with screenings but with Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy. 

CIG build partnerships with organizations like Imana Medical Relief and Guyana International Relief organization - GIRO and save a life foundation to help the people in need. 
Recently Cancer Awareness and Health Outreaches were done in association with Guyana International relief organization-GIRO. 
40 year old Savitri is being helped by Savealife Foundation USA. 

Savitree mother of two Cervical cancer stage 1 B

Health Awareness Outreaches are major part of community service activities of CIG. Cancer Institute has ran a campaign against cervical cancer earlier last year as member of a larger Caribbean Coalition, which is aiming to eliminate this cancer from Caribbean  by the year 2025. 

January is the month of Cervical cancer Awareness and CIG, through its outreaches, is actively educating  the population about this life threatening cancer of the womb in females.