Some of the most common cancers affecting men and women were the subject of much discussion at the Careers Day Fair on Tuesday. Information on these illnesses was outlined at a Health Education booth at which the Senior Health Educator, Mrs Jennifer Gumbs, and Health Education, Ms Rochelle Rogers, were stationed.
Mrs Gumbs spoke on behalf of the Health Promotion Unit. She told media representatives that the mammogram campaign for women needing financial assistance had so far been successful. “We have raised US$10,000 to provide mammograms for 100 persons in Anguilla over the age of 40 years. We got names from the various health clinics and registered them at the Health Promotion Unit.
“The persons benefiting from this had to meet three criteria. They had to be uninsured; have a low-paying job or unemployed. We are now calling up persons and giving them free certificates to go to the Hughes Medical Centre for their mammograms. Usually, the price for a mammogram is US$120, but Hughes Medical Centre is giving us $20 off on each mammogram so we are paying $100 per person. The only problem is that the bigger plates are not available so persons requiring larger sizes are unable to have their mammograms done.”
Ms Gumbs, who is also the President of the Anguilla Cancer Society, went on: “The society is making progress and this year we want to focus more on prostate cancer. We have been doing a lot for breast cancer, but this year we want to concentrate a lot more on prostate cancer because that is the leading cancer affecting men in Anguilla. Just as we have had a big campaign for breast cancer, we want to have the same for prostate cancer.”
She said that the month of March was also set aside to look at kidney and colon cancer and that lung cancer was another illness under concentration.
