Focus on cervical cancer this month
THE Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) will be placing focus on cervical cancer during Cancer Awareness Month in April.
Under the theme ‘Cervical Cancer is the Most Preventable Cancer… Do Your Pap Smear’, the aim is to raise awareness and encourage more women to do regular screenings for early detection and treatment of abnormal cell changes.
Speaking at a Think Tank at the JIS head office in Kingston on Wednesday, JCS Executive Director Yulit Gordon said that the agency will be redoubling its efforts this year to reach more people.
“The focus will be around health promotion and increasing public awareness of cervical cancer, equipping persons with practical information about how they can reduce their risk and to encourage them to get their Pap smear test done,” she said.
Activities will get underway on April 1, with promotions and interactions with the public at locations across the Corporate Area and major towns around the island.
“We will have our volunteers out at the major intersections handing out flyers with information about cancer and healthy lifestyle choices. We will also be inviting persons to participate in our activities. We will be having interviews and exhibits and we’ll be going across the country. We’ll be going into Montego Bay and Manchester, engaging the public,” she said.
Also on the Cancer Awareness Month calendar are a church service at Boulevard Baptist Church; the launch of Relay for Life 2016; and a student Anti-Tobacco Forum in Montego Bay.
A major event will be the staging of the Dr Joseph St Elmo Hall Lecture Series on April 17 at the Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
The guest speaker will be Gynaecologic Oncologist and Robotic Surgeon from Baptist Health in South Florida, Dr Troy Gatcliffe. He will make a presentation on the Advances in the Management of Early Cervical Cancer and Continuing Medical Education (CME).
Gordon said that during the month, people will be able to access screenings at a discounted rate at the JCS clinic in Kingston and through its outreach facilities across the island.
A discount of 10 per cent is being offered to JCS members and five per cent to the general public.
JCS screened a total of 9,790 women for cervical cancer in 2015.
