Prevent and Treat Cervical Cancer in Guyana

Long-time Remote Area Medical volunteers Dr. Jordann Loehr (OB/GYN) and Jacqui Doran (biomedical scientist)* have led several successful expeditions to Guyana as part of RAM’s Women’s Health Program. Cervical cancer screenings have been a major focus of their clinics as there are high incidences among patients in the surrounding remote villages. They have also increased awareness by teaching HPV-screening procedures to local Guyanese physicians and residents at the University of Guyana in Georgetown. This allows them to pair their HPV screenings with diabetes screenings, blood pressure screenings, pediatric clinics, general medical clinics, and some vaccinations. With a goal of having physicians trained to use screening machines in more local district hospitals instead of just at the central hospital, there will be increased access to testing. They plan on training these medical residents to go into the remote villages to return test results and simultaneously bring treatment to those women. The desired outcomes are early detection, efficient treatment, and an increased partnership between the physicians who will travel outside of the confines of the city and the patients in these remote areas. 

The team’s return visit planned for early 2020 was postponed due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19 that have limited access in and out of the country. Their goal is to return in early 2021, depending on the state of travel at that time. The entire team remains committed to the mission of treating these women and children and for more of the Guyanese population to have access to these preventative services. 

In the future, Dr. Loehr and Ms. Doran plan to expand this program with increased surveillance and response for tropical diseases in the region as many of those have been neglected in Guyana and the surrounding areas. The goal is controlling - and eventually, eliminating - these diseases. Your donations support and expand the offerings and reach of our Women’s Health Program. Once travel bans are lifted, RAM’s committed volunteers will be among the first to arrive.

*names included with permission from volunteers

Links:

• Remote Area Medical Homepage

While Remote Area Medical has been unable to travel to Guyana so far in 2020 due to restrictions during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the team remains committed to the mission of providing free, timely, and consistent cervical cancer screenings, HPV vaccinations, diagnostic and preventive services, and other gynecological services to Amerindian women in the impoverished remote villages.

Knowledgeable volunteers and transportation are two critical elements to the success of this program. Delmar ‘Muscle’ Rogers, a gold miner working in the vast interior in Guyana, has been volunteering for more than 15 years and says that, “Being a RAM volunteer takes dedication. It is service above self. You always have to be thinking of the less fortunate.”

When asked why he continues to volunteer trip after trip and year after year, Delmar explains, “I just enjoy seeing the gratitude on the villagers faces and also knowing that they expect us to return and continue to be of service to them.” With your continued support, and when travel bans are lifted, RAM will continue the Women’s Health Program in the remote villages of Guyana.

Links:

• Remote Area Medical website