The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A REGISTERED mammographer is concerned over the decline in breast cancer screenings in Grand Bahama, where the screening rate is around 18 percent.

Nikeia Watson, of Mammogram Access Programme (MAP), attributes the low screening rate to a suspension of mammography service in the public health care system following Hurricane Dorian.

She also reported that only one of the three mammogram machines is working in Grand Bahama.

To boost mammogram screenings, she started MAP, a nonprofit foundation, to assist women with accessing screening for breast cancer in the northern Bahamas.

“I started MAP shortly after Dorian to answer the call of suspended services here on the island, where we have been struggling with this for a while,” said Watson, a former employee in the public healthcare system.

“Over the past 16 years, I have seen a decline in the screening rate of women coming to get mammograms. Every time we get hit with a hurricane, there is a pause in the service, and there is a lag for that service to come back up, and so women fall off. And, you wonder why the rate of cancer is so high in the country is because women are discouraged.”

The Rand Memorial Hospital has screened about 2,000 women annually since 2004.

According to the 2020 Census, half of the 50,000 people in Grand Bahama were women, and 11,000 of those women fall within the screening age.

Ms Watson stressed that when there is a pause of service, there is no education or announcement concerning the resumption of mammogram services.

“And so, it’s not only that the service pauses, but there is no recovery,” she stressed.

She reported that MAP provides screening services and was able to assist 100 women last week.

“We just celebrated our 100 women served, and we have that to be grateful for,” Ms Watson said.

MAP currently outsources screening to a private clinic on the island, which has the only working mammogram machine on the island. Ms Watson has indicated that MAP is in the process of raising funds to acquire one to play a more active role in screening.

“We have not heard any feedback from the Rand if their machine is up. She noted that about 70 percent of the population is uninsured and depends on the service. The Rand, she said, suspended mammogram service after Dorian.

Ms Watson said mammogram screening at the Rand is not free, but people are not turned away if they cannot afford to pay.

“The machines at the private clinics are not free, and you have to pay. It leaves women in a very precarious position because if they cannot pay, they cannot get the service, not with Rand being offline,” she said.

Ms Watson said the pandemic and the lockdowns had also impacted mammogram services.

She noted that after the hurricanes, there has always been a suspension of screenings.

“For me, I truly believe that MAP is a mission from God. I do believe it is divine. I have been a professional for over 16 years since hurricane Frances and Jeanne, and I saw how the service reacted to a major hurricane event. And every year there was a hurricane, the service paused, and the screening rate dropped. But, there is also no recovery because there is no education that goes after these women,” she explained.

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, MAP expects to announce a partnership that will help them with their patient education and engagement programme.

Ms Watson thanked Jarol Investment for its donation of $25,000 that assisted them with screenings. She said $15,000 went towards screenings for women, and $10,000 toward their fundraising efforts to acquire a mammogram machine.