Dear Editor,
On August 16, 2011, a caller on Love FM’s Morning Show launched a malicious attack on Dr. Ellsworth Grant and the Belize Cancer Center-Dangriga, accusing them of being cold, of “playing” them, and suggesting that the Center does not want to serve the people of Dangriga. This attack is regrettable because the founders of the Cancer Center continue to moralize and agonize when confronted by patients who need other types of treatment that are not offered at the Center.
The caller failed to inform the public that their loved one has been under the care of the treatment center since the Center was opened in 2008. More importantly, the family was aware of the enormous efforts, though unsuccessful, to import specialized oncology surgical services for this young patient. The Center sought and eventually obtained financial resources to facilitate travel and surgical treatment in a foreign country for this patient.
However, the family had the responsibility of sourcing other funds for travel expenses, and this critical factor, triggered the public outcry. The truth is that they were unable to meet their financial responsibility, which caused a major delay in getting the young family member to a foreign hospital for the treatment of an advancing cancer.
Over the past year, Dr. Ellsworth Grant and his team have sourced resources to meet the cost of radiation treatment for twelve (12) patients in a foreign country. It is not surprising then, that Dr. Grant was deeply disturbed by the negative publicity, since he goes the extra mile – only to be told that what is being done is not enough! Dr. Grant poses an interesting question: Exactly how much is enough?
The Belize Cancer Center-Dangriga, the only clinic in Belize which offers chemotherapy services to cancer patients, was inaugurated in October, 2008. The Center was founded by Dr. Ellsworth Grant and Nurse Dellone Pascascio, Belizean visionaries and philanthropists who responded to a critical need to assist cancer patients in Belize. The hematology-oncology Center provides costly treatment to patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Prior to 2008, cancer patients often died because they could not afford to travel abroad for chemotherapy. To date, radiation therapy and specialized surgical procedures for cancer are not available in Belize.
The frustration of the family should alert the general public to the critical issue affecting persons diagnosed with cancer in Belize. Patients who need radiation and other specialized cancer services are confronted with astronomical costs of cancer care. Thousands of dollars are spent for each cancer patient yearly. Depending on the intensity of treatment, cancer care in Mexico and Guatemala can surpass BZ$100,000 within a three-month period. Locally, extensive surgical interventions for cancer can exceed $100,000 over a three-day period in private hospitals.
The Belize Cancer Society and other community-based organizations are confronted daily by frustrated and desperate families who must solicit, borrow, mortgage their homes, and ultimately direct all their families’ resources to meeting the cost of travel and treatment for cancer care both locally and internationally. What happens to those who just cannot procure those funds?
The Government of Belize cannot continue to ignore the plight of persons needing cancer care. Access to a reasonable level of healthcare services in the country of Belize is the right of persons diagnosed with cancer. The Belize Cancer Society calls on the Government of Belize to establish a Comprehensive Cancer Prevention and Control Program which can facilitate the education of physicians and nurses in oncology, as well as the procurement of funds to support radiation treatment for our people.
How long must we allow persons to confront the possibility of premature death because of the lack of financial resources needed to access cancer treatment? Two individuals, through the Belize Cancer Center-Dangriga, have been able to obtain financing to make chemotherapy available to every person attending their clinic – regardless of their ability to pay. It is now time for the Government of Belize to do its part.
The Belize Health Reform Policy, which began in 1996, was envisioned as a process that would lead to a national health care system which is based on equity, affordability, accessibility, quality and sustainability in effective partnership with all sectors of government and the rest of society in order to develop and maintain an environment conducive to good health.
The Belize Cancer Society invites the Government to formalize their relationships with related agencies to begin the process that can culminate in a Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.
Laura Tucker-Longsworth MSN. RN.
President
Belize Cancer Society