Saint Lucia recorded nine childhood cancer cases between 2019 and 2022, with leukemia and lymphomas being the most common diagnoses.
That’s according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George.
In a message to mark Child Cancer Awareness Month, Belmar-George noted that very few childhood cancers occur due to environmental or lifestyle factors.
However, she explained it was essential to ensure optimal health in all children to improve their chances of survival.
Her complete statement appears below:
Headline photo: Young Girl Receiving Chemotherapy (Courtesy Unsplash)
Sad to hear…kids should not be going through these types of experiences, especially those that could be avoided with proper lifestyles. The same govts behind these sad discoveries are the SAME ones that cannot enact low sugar drinks in schools. Its the same government that promote the sale of processed foods for lunch (stewed sausage and chow mein) for kids at primary schools. The SAME govts that spend endless money on lights at playing fields rather than having safe playground spaces within schools. To the CMO, I know you are a worker howver you are part of a hypocritical system!!!!
Yes I agree, and will add: the same government approving more and more chemicals brought into our Island and used on our crops, going into our bodies, into our water, into our children.
You can bet on it, many more cancer to come.