Mammogram woes worsen in western Jamaica

MONTEGO BAY, St James — The National Health Fund (NHF) is developing an initiative to have a mobile mammography unit travel across the island, providing critical screening service to the public. While the programme is still in its early stages, it comes as western Jamaica faces a severe shortage of mammography equipment used to screen for and diagnose breast cancer. “We’re working on a mobile solution, but are not at the point to say it’s fully sorted, but early in the new year we can update you,” NHF CEO Everton Anderson told the Jamaica Observer in an interview last Friday. The limited availability of mammogram machines in the region has left patients with few options. One resident told the Observer that she will have to travel to Kingston for her annual examination.

A private medical facility in St James that typically offers the service is reportedly operating without a functional machine. Efforts to reach a representative of the institution by phone were unsuccessful. ANDERSON... we’re working on a mobile solution (Photo: JIS News) Clinical coordinator for the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) Dr Delroy Fray outlined the gravity of the situation in western Jamaica. “Unfortunately, none of the private places in Montego Bay do mammograms. However, Radiology West does CT [computed tomography] of the breast, and CT of the breast can give you the information that you need to know, but it costs more than a mammogram,” explained Dr Fray. Dedicated breast CT is a modern imaging technology designed to examine breast tissue directly, without painful plate compression. Public institutions offer little relief. Dr Fray noted that across the four parishes managed by the WRHA ­­— St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, and Trelawny — Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in St James…