Dreams Can Come True: Fighting the Stigma of Cancer and Facilitating Access to Safe, Appropriate Care in Belize

Abstract

This article describes a national effort to open access to cancer services and treatment for persons living with cancer in the developing, low-income country of Belize. The journey to establish the Belize Cancer Center Dangriga, located in the depressed southern region of the country, that provides affordable, culturally sensitive care primarily to low-income patients and families is explained. The challenges of establishing this center, the only multisectorial, multidisciplinary cancer center in the country to date, given the stigma associated with cancer, are discussed. This article describes a national effort to open access to cancer services and treatment for persons living with cancer in the developing, low-income country of Belize. The journey to establish the Belize Cancer Center Dangriga, located in the depressed southern region of the country, that provides affordable, culturally sensitive care primarily to low-income patients and families is explained. The challenges of establishing this center, the only multisectorial, multidisciplinary cancer center in the country to date, given the stigma associated with cancer, are discussed.