In a stark warning delivered at the Dominica Cancer Society’s Annual General Meeting, held recently at the UWI Global Campus, medical practitioner Dr. Velda Wade has sounded the alarm over a growing public health crisis in the small Caribbean nation. Dr. Wade revealed that roughly 300 people across Dominica are currently living with a cancer diagnosis – a statistic that carries extraordinary weight for a country with such a limited population.
The recorded cases cover every stage of the disease, she explained: from patients still awaiting confirmation of their diagnosis, to those actively undergoing chemotherapy treatment, individuals in remission, and patients receiving end-of-life care. Given the profound physical, emotional and financial strain that cancer places on healthcare systems and families alike, Dr. Wade emphasized that this caseload qualifies as an epidemic for Dominica.
Calling the situation both dangerous and devastating, Dr. Wade framed the rising cancer burden as a wake-up call for the entire country. She added that the issue extends far beyond Dominica’s borders, noting that uncontrolled cancer rates are a shared challenge across the Caribbean region and the entire globe. “This is a nation under attack, a region under attack, a world of trouble,” she stated, challenging every citizen to examine what role they can play in confronting the rapidly growing burden of the disease.
Citing global research from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Dr. Wade highlighted that proactive prevention can drastically cut cancer rates. The data shows that as many as 40% of all cancer cases globally are preventable through targeted changes to environmental and infectious risk factors. This statistic, she explained, proves that individual and collective action holds real power to reduce the national cancer toll. Dr. Wade closed by urging greater investment in public health outreach, expanded preventive health initiatives, and coordinated community action to turn the tide on Dominica’s growing cancer crisis.