Advocate calls on women to test for cervical cancer

An important walk to increase national awareness about cervical cancer is being planned for later this month, with organiser Krystal-Penny Bowen stressing the need for more women to be tested for the disease.

Bowen, who lost her mother earlier this year to Stage 3 cervical cancer, said the walk has been a personal mission for her, not only in tribute to her late mother but also to expand awareness on cervical cancer.

“For 63 days starting August 15, right up to October 30, which is my mom’s birthday, I will walk a mile a day,” she told Barbados TODAY.

“I realised that in Barbados we do not have real official awareness for that particular cancer – you know there is prostate, you know there is breast cancer, but there is no real awareness or talk around cervical cancer; it’s just not recognised in the same way as the others.”

Bowen said she did not intend to make the walk a large group affair. Instead, a smaller group will join her physically on the journey while other supporters and those interested in cervical cancer awareness can follow on her social media platforms where she will provide live updates during the 63-day period.

The cervical cancer advocate who has already expanded the online presence of her group, Life After Loss – which provides emotional and other support to people who have lost loved ones to cancer – said that free testing and avenues for more affordable testing are being examined to detect the disease at an early stage so that women have a better chance of fighting it.

“The hope is to start by giving at least one woman once a month a free pap smear, for persons following the pages. It’s not just about sharing information but also getting women to go out there and get tested, because it’s a very important test and a lot of women do not take it that seriously because they figure it’s not that big of a deal, but it is,” Bowen said.

Her walk on August 15 will start from the National Union of Public Workers headquarters in Dalkeith Road, St Michael and finish at National Heroes Square in Bridgetown.

The route has been planned out as a tribute to her late mother, who has several ties to the locations.

“My mom used to live in the Bayland area so she has a lot of history there. It’s also near her former school, the Seventh-Day Adventist School.

“Also along the route we will pass an old family home; her favourite beach was Browne’s Beach; and also we will pass [the Barbados] Family Planning [Association] who, from the very onset of my mission, has given me lots of support,” Bowen explained. (SB)