Barbados ranks high in the region and the world in incidence of colon cancer, and in light of this, insurance companies should be covering the cost of screening.
That is the opinion of medical director of Surgical Solutions Inc. Barbados, Dr Sahle Griffith, who raised the point during a discussion organised by Cancer Support Services at the Barbados Yacht Club on Saturday.
Griffith pointed out that Barbados had the “eighth highest incidence of colon cancer in the world, the third highest incidence of colon cancer in the PAHO region”, but “you have insurance companies in this country who are not covering colon cancer screening”.
“We need a lobby that says to these companies that this is ridiculous,” he said.
And screening was important to the early detection of the illness, Griffith said, drawing comparison to the open conversation about pap smears and cervical cancer screening among women. (Nation News)