The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

The Cancer Society of the Bahamas hopes its breast cancer awareness forum tonight will give women the much needed “nudge” to get screened or perform a self-examination at the very least.

The forum is one of many efforts by the organisation to ensure that members of the public are fully informed of the condition.

This evening’s forum, which will be held at the Cancer Society in Centreville beginning at 5.30pm, will feature a panel of survivors who will share their journey with the audience.

They include Jeanine Lampkin, Ronette Frazer, Zakiya Brown, Zitalia Fox, Kissie Storr, and Keffieann Duncombe. The women will share on topics such as, “Why screening is so important”, “The Journey Forward After Diagnosis”, “Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle”, and “Support Makes A Difference”.

“A panel of breast cancer survivors will be there and they will basically discuss their journey with breast cancer and how they discovered it,” said Melissa Major, programmes coordinator.

“We will have our team of doctors here and they will also answer any questions that are related to the medical side of the forum. We will be talking about why screening is so important because the majority of these women found lumps themselves by doing the self-examination,” she said. 

Ms Major said the forum is meant to raise awareness of breast cancer and reinforce the importance of early detection and self-examination. 

“The panellists will be talking about their journey, from finding out about their cancer to the treatment. We have one panellist that finished treatment years ago, and we have another that is still doing treatment. We will be hearing from a 22-year-old who has had a double mastectomy. We will be talking, of course about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and we will talk about how support makes a different. A lot of the women are a part of the Cancer Society support group,” she said.

Ms Major said forums like this are appreciated because people are not only educated, but those who may be going through challenges with their health can find the support and encouragement they need. 

“The women on the panel are women of influence, some of them are women who you work with, some of them are women you probably went to school with, and that goes to show it can happen to anybody. I think that realisation and having this forum makes it real and gives them a little nudge to go and check themselves out because that could be you,” she said.

“We want people to realise that early detection saves lives and is key. You have to be aggressive and take charge of your health. The Cancer Society is here to support, we are here to educate, raise awareness and advocate on behalf of anyone that has been touched by cancer.”

For more information, or to donate the Cancer Society, contact 323-4441.