Cancer awareness is the name of the game ahead of CIBC’s ‘Walk for The Cure’
Published:Thursday | October 12, 2023 | 12:09 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank, as part of its corporate civic duty, is broadening its role in bringing greater awareness to and encouraging healthy lifestyles through its ‘Walk for The Cure’ 5K Walk/Run.
The financial hub has invested in seeking to bring much-needed awareness to all forms cancer and is partnering once again with the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS), the beneficiary of proceeds from the upcoming event.
Nigel Holness, managing director of CIBC FirstCaribbean, on Tuesday, encouraged participants to sign up as registration is now open for the October 22 staging of the walk/run.
Holness was addressing the launch at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew.
“Those of you who don’t like to wake up early, set your clocks, set your alarms from now. Get on to that running site and participate. At CiBC FirstCaribbean, our mission, our aim, is to fight this dreaded disease,” he said as he aimed to energise the room.
He said all stakeholders play a vital roll in the success of the event as they continue to ‘fight for the cure’.
The event will be managed by Running Events Ja, and its principal, Alfred ‘Franno’ Francis, shared similar sentiments.
CLOSE TO HOME
According to Francis, Running Events Ja treats each event as a stepping stone to the next, but there is something about Walk for the Cure that hits home.
Both his sister and father died from cancer.
“For those who are aware, there are certain countries, they are considered the blue zone, and by their lifestyle, top of the zone. How the people live, they live to reach 100 easily. So through building awareness about fostering a healthy lifestyle, physical activity, and through nutrition, we can stave off cancer.”
Francis said Jamaica could ensure that it has greater success in the fight against cancer.
“What an event like this does is build awareness. We are conscious of our bodies and how we take care of our bodies. The promotion of a healthy lifestyle is something we at Running Events, we take at our core,” Francis said.
The 5k event is open to individuals, groups, and corporate entities.
Michael Leslie, financial manager at the JCS, a non-profit and non-governmental organisation, brought with him some statistics he insisted were not intended to scare anyone but rather, to highlight the need to bring awareness to Jamaicans.
He thanked CIBC FirstCaribbean for supporting the JCS as one of its donors.
CREATE AWARENESS
Leslie, citing World Health Organization data, said breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world.
“Jamaica (in 2020) had about 1,200 women diagnosed with breast cancer. [A] very alarming premise [is that] in Jamaica, one in every 20 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer,” he said.
Leslie said the mandate of the JCS, over the past 68 years, has been to create awareness around all forms of cancer.
“Not only awareness, but we embark on a very rigid screening process. We believe that early detection can save your life,” he said.
Leslie said funds received from the venture over the past 13 years have helped to increase awareness.
Last year, the JCS said it was able to assist in providing screening for more than 2,000 underserved women across Jamaica.
Leslie said most of these women could not afford it.
He said that underserved men are also assisted with prostate cancer screening.
Marsha Burrell, who is a mental health survivor, spoke of her mom, who is a cancer survivor of 29 years.
She has been assisted by the JCS.
Burrell said that while attention is paid to awareness, the impact on mental health cannot be ignored.
She insisted that many persons die from ‘knowing’ rather than the illness itself.
“Understand the importance. It’s not only running. You can make a donation, get your friends together. If they can’t run, let them donate. Let’s do this for our people,” Burrell said.