— as Cancer Institute urges more women to get on board

AT no cost, more than 100 women from various walks of life were screened for different types of cancers when the Cancer Institute of Guyana hosted an “open day” recently.
Though the open day was held in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Syed Ghazi, the Director of Outreach at the Cancer Institute, said the event was not limited to just free mammograms.

A mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast that allows oncologists to determine if their patients have signs or symptoms of breast cancer.
“We did free breast examination, free pap smears, free ultrasounds, free mammograms. Free BSE training and free consultation with doctors,” Ghazi explained.
He said the open day, which was held at the Cancer Institute located on Lamaha Street, Georgetown, would not have been possible without the support of the many businesses and organisations that came on board to lend financial assistance.

“Pap smears are not really cheap, but thanks to our sponsors, thanks to the people who are actually helping us, the event was made possible,” the Director of Outreach said.
Pap smear or Papanicolau smear is a screening test for cervical cancer. The test itself involves collection of a sample of cells from a woman’s cervix during a routine pelvic exam. Robin Baxter was among women who had their pap smears done at no cost to them.
“I was scared at first. As a woman you know that you should check yourself, but I didn’t because of fear. But now that I meet that age I decided to and it was very comfortable and I would do it again,” Baxter told the Guyana Chronicle last week Thursday.
On Friday, the Cancer Institute of Guyana will host a Candle Light Vigil at its Lamaha Street compound as it continues to raise awareness about breast cancer and other types of cancers.

“We have a vigil right here to celebrate the people who have survived and to remember the people who have lost their lives to this monster, to this war,” Dr. Ghazi explained.
The vigil will be followed by a Breast Cancer Awareness Walk on Sunday, October 29. Dr. Ghazi emphasised that educating the populace on cancer is important with respect to prevention and early detection.

PROACTIVE APPROACH
“We want to find this cancer before it finds us.”

While October has been designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Director of Outreach said the Cancer Institute of Guyana has been in the business of raising awareness all year round.

He said the Cancer Institute has been reaching people in their work places and their communities. Emphasis, he said, continues to be placed on hinterland communities.
According to Dr. Ghazi, for the past three years, more than 3000 women have been screened for cervical cancer, while hundreds of women have been scanned for breast cancer.

“We do extensive screening of Indigenous women. So we have already done two campaigns for this kind of screening, this year is the third campaign, and each year we cover more than a thousand people,” he posited.
For Dr. Ghazi, the Cancer Institute of Guyana is one of the leading institutions in the country engaging in an aggressive fight against cancer.
“I have said this many times, we are the largest stakeholder when it comes to screening, diagnoses and treatment of cancer, especially common cancers like breast and cervical cancers,” he stated.

Founded in 2006, the Cancer Institute of Guyana was pioneered by its Chief Executive Officer George Nellamattathil. Nellamattathil, who has a strong background in medical imaging, had established his own outpatient medical imaging centre in Chicago in 2001.
In 2004, along with his long-time associate and Guyanese national, Thomas Eversley, he visited Guyana for the first time to seek opportunities to expand his medical imaging business.

In collaboration with St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, his company, Global Imaging Service, installed the first MRI scanner in Guyana. As the pioneer in Medical Imaging, Global Imaging Service (GIS) continued to expand its services by adding more imaging modalities such as the CT scanner, ultrasound, mammography and general X-Ray
In 2006, the then Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, solicited a Public/ Private Partnership with GIS which resulted in the formation of the Cancer Institute of Guyana. At the cancer institute, several hundreds of patients are seen by qualified medical professionals for screening, diagnosis and treatment.
As the only recognised institution that provides comprehensive cancer treatment to patients, Nellamatthil has established a vision for the company to be the Centre of Excellence in Cancer treatment and research for the entire Caribbean Region.