Herbal advertisements offering a quick cure for cancer and cancer-related illness are currently engaging the attention of Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan.

In a release issued over the weekend in commemoration of World Cancer Day, Khan said: "I wish to take this opportunity to advise there have been local advertising claims promising cures for cancer from herbal medications. This is wrong, misleading and false advertising. I want the public to be aware of this and I, as the Minister of Health, am looking at this very seriously and will determine the next course of action."

Noting that his Ministry will continue to lead on health initiatives to emphasise the importance of a healthy lifestyle for the prevention of Chronic Non Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) "such as our Fight The Fat Campaign, health fairs, educational lectures and our annual Caribbean Wellness Day," Khan said his Ministry will continue to invest significantly in cancer services and cancer control in T&T.

"The Ministry offers free to all citizens the full management of cancer treatment at all the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs), utilising both primary and secondary health care, from diagnosis to advanced management and palliative care."

Adding that if a patient needs to be referred to a private facility this will also be done for free, Khan said: "The National Radiotherapy Centre (NRC) at the St James Medical Complex, St James continues to be the flagship referral centre of oncology care in the public sector."

Khan said that the future development in cancer care include the recommencement of work on the National Oncology Centre (NOC) at the EWMSC this year.

"The NOC, when established, would become the one-stop shop for cancer care using a multidisciplinary team approach, from diagnosis to treatment to cure," Khan added.

Other plans are the decentralisation of chemotherapy services to the RHAs, expansion of the cancer drug formulary, national scholarships and bursaries to nationals pursuing specialist training in oncology and the establishment of two baccalaureate degree programmes in oncology nursing and radiation therapy training at the School of Advanced Nursing (SANE), UWI and COSTTAAT respectively, Khan noted.

Adding that regular screening increases the chances of detecting certain cancers early, when they are most likely to be curable, Khan said, "a simple pap smear, or breast or prostate exam will detect cancer at an early stage, allow for intervention and a good prognosis for prostate, breast and cervical cancers".