Antigua’s Cancer Centre to Reopen in June, PM Eyes Regional Medical Hub Status

The long-awaited Cancer Centre is now expected to reopen in June 2026, Prime Minister Gaston Browne confirmed on Saturday.

The facility, which has been closed since April 2023 due to financial difficulties, has been fully refitted with new medical equipment under the private ownership of a US-based investment group, according to Browne.

He expressed confidence the June timeline would hold and outlined a broader ambition to position the facility as a regional medical tourism hub, attracting patients from across the Caribbean.

The centre originally opened in June 2015 as the first of its kind in the Eastern Caribbean, offering radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and oncology services to patients across the OECS member states.

The road to reopening has been protracted.

The government resorted to compulsory acquisition after protracted negotiations with former majority shareholder Dr Conville Brown broke down, with his asking price of US$30 million far exceeding the government’s valuation of EC$6 to $9 million.

The facility was ultimately sold to US-based investors for EC$13 million, with the building and equipment handled as separate transactions.

Disputes over the equipment purchase caused further delays.

By October 2025, investors were publicly targeting a first quarter 2026 reopening.

That window has now passed without the centre resuming operations, making June 2026 at least the third publicly committed deadline.

Cancer support groups, including Breast Friends, have repeatedly urged the government to move beyond promises.

Spokesperson Eunetta Bird previously described the closure as placing patients in an impossible position of having to leave jobs, children, and families for six-week treatment stints abroad, with the Medical Benefits Scheme covering treatment costs but not always travel and accommodation expenses.