The T&T Cancer Society (TTCS) and Republic Bank Ltd (RBL) have come together once again to try to increase awareness about cancer. The TTCS and RBL launched the activities for Cancer Awareness Month with an Edu Fest for secondary school students yesterday at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA).
This is was the fourth such event held by the two organisations. Karen Yip Chuck, general manager of trust and asset management at RBL, told the students they were not too young to start living a healthy lifestyle. She added: "Cancer can strike anyone, at any age, of any creed, of any race and ethnicity. It is no respecter of persons, status or positions.
"Cancer is today one of the most feared and invasive of illnesses and it seems that every day a new variant of the disease is discovered." Yip Chuck explained to the teens that even though the disease might be hereditary in some cases, "the more you know about cancer and its causes, the greater your ability to take preventative measures to ensure you do not become a victim."
She said in T&T cancer of the cervix was the second leading cancer in women. She added: "Pap smears are important once you are sexually active, as it can detect abnormal cells in the cervix before they become invasive. We see a younger group of females between the ages of 35-49 dying from this disease.
"Yes, we lime more and our social lives seem to explode but alcohol consumption is dangerous to our health, as is cigarette-smoking. "We can say no, you know. I did it as a teenager and my friends respected it because they respected me." Yip Chuck said in observance of Cancer Awareness Month mobile clinics would be set up at various locations throughout the country.
These clinics were being set up to provide the public with breast-screening, pap smears and prostate examinations, she said. She added that on October 27, there would be a Cancer Remembrance Walk around the Queen's Park Savannah at 3 pm to show support for cancer victims.