Cancer funds save lives

by George Alleyne

The Barbados Cancer Society is a largely volunteer non-governmental organisation that depends on the generosity of corporate and private donors and supporters of its fundraising annual walk to enable its clinic to save lives of many in Barbados.

Since the first money-raising walk in 1999 organisers have hauled in millions that gynaecologist and Medical Coordinator of the Barbados Cancer Society’s Breast Screening Programme Dr Shirley Hanuman-Jhagroo said went to keeping the clinic, a subsidiary of the Society, on the cutting edge.

“People often ask where does the money raised from the walk go,” she told Barbados TODAY and went on to explain that the clinic where procedures such as mammograms, to test for cancer, and biopsies, to remove small amounts of cancerous tissue, is self-sufficient thanks to those funds raised and donations received over the years.

In this Breast Cancer Awareness month, she discussed how the money is spent including a purchase of a piece of equipment costing $1 million in cold hard cash.

“Whenever money is collected from clinical procedures [most of which are subsidised] for early diagnosis, it runs the clinic, pays the staff, does building and equipment maintenance, and pays insurance.”

“From the walk, a big event, the money made goes to buy equipment. This is why we have top of the line equipment.”

She said that the clinic has a 2D digital mammogram piece of equipment that cost just over $1 million, “and we paid for it cash that came from fund-raising,” she said, boasting that the Henry Lane Upper Collymore Rock clinic is the only place on island with that 2D digital machinery. The outfit also has a 1D mammogram machine.

“We have got at the moment a 3D ultrasound machine, which is still top of the line. They haven’t got a 4D yet.”

But in this medical volunteer work that has saved the lives of untold thousands of persons on island, machines have to be constantly upgraded.

“We’ve now raised enough money over the last two years to purchase a 3D mammogram machine, called a Tomogram, which is top of the line at the moment.”

She describes the clinic as a one-stop centre, “everything is under one roof… You have your mammogram done, you can have your ultrasound done.

“When you go for a mammogram, we have a specialist nurse who examines the breasts and teaches the patient how to examine
their breasts”.

“We have consultant surgeons who visit the clinic every week…three of them and they will talk to the patient and decide whether they need a biopsy or whatever they need.

“The decision is made between the patient and the surgeon. If it has to be done at the Cancer Society. We can do only a certain amount and other basic work.”

In spite of the clinic having an operating theatre it does not perform more invasive operations that require patients going under general anaesthetic. That is usually referred to the QEH, or the patient could opt for a private clinic.

The emergence of COVID-19 has forced cancellation of that vital fund-raising ‘Walk for Cure’, held annually the first Sunday in October, so the society is now trying to sell off the 20,000 pink T-shirts it had brought in since January before the pandemic hit this island.

Dr Hanuman-Jhagroo said that money raised from sale of the shirts, caps and masks will be used to refurbish an area of the clinic designated for the new Tomogram.

Then there is ‘Little Pinkgift’, a volunteer sub-group that specialises in raising funds to help meet expenses of patients who cannot afford to pay for their treatment, though it comes at a reduced price.

“We send the patients to them and they would pay for biopsies or sometimes the surgery. It’s done by the Cancer Society . . . The biopsies we just don’t wait if they can’t afford to do it, we do it anyway.”

“Supporting us and supporting these things help us to improve the quality of life for women in the island.”