The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

WITH colon cancer being the third deadliest form of cancer in the Bahamas, members of the SMB Care Foundation said they recognise that efforts to raise more awareness and educate the public on the disease must be heightened and remain ongoing.

As part of these efforts, SMB Care will tonight screen the Academy Award-winning film “The Revenant” at 7pm at The Island House Cinema.

Tickets are available for a donation of $75 and include complimentary wine and selections from a gourmet platter prepared by Chef Gerald Rolle.

“The Revenant” is a 2015 American epic survival western film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Alejandro G Iñárritu, and based in part on Michael Punke’s novel of the same name, inspired by the experiences of frontiersman Hugh Glass in 1823, in what is now Montana and South Dakota. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Glass, and co-stars Tom Hardy (“The Dark Knight Rises”), Domhnall Gleeson (“Star Wars - The Force Awakens”) and Will Poulter.

While exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823, frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) sustains life-threatening injuries from a brutal bear attack. When a member (Tom Hardy) of his hunting team kills his half-Pawnee son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) and leaves him for dead, Glass must utilise his survival skills to find a way back to civilisation. Grief-stricken and fuelled by vengeance, the legendary fur trapper treks through the snowy terrain to track down the man who betrayed him.

The screening of “The Revenant” is the second instalment of the foundation’s SMB Flicks, a film fundraising initiative. One hundred per cent of the proceeds raised from SMB Flicks will help to underwrite the cost of colonoscopies for high-risk individuals in need.

SMB Care, established in honour of the late Dr Sharon M Bascom-Bruney who passed away from colon cancer in 2013, has increased its community centered initiatives over the past three years to ensure that all Bahamians know about the deadly yet preventable disease.

“Generally when you are talking about colon cancer, US guidelines state screenings should start at 50 years,” said Corey Bruney, managing director of SMB Care and son of the late Dr Bascom-Bruney.

“However, there was some research done in the Bahamas that concluded that for our population screening should be done at age 45. Colonocopies are an expensive procedure publicly and privately. There are a lot of individuals that are at risked but cannot afford to get screening. We are aiming to give between four and six people colonoscopies.”

The SMB Care Foundation has formed a relationship with the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) and a network of physicians to identify individuals in need of colonoscopies and to provide the financial assistance to enable them to receive the procedure. A colonoscopy typically costs hundreds of dollars in the public system and thousands if conducted by a private physician.

To learn more about the SMB Care Foundation, visit smbcare.org or contact info@smbcare.org.