Breast cancer survivor gives back to health sector

TORONTO: Letna Allen-Rowe, veteran storyteller and entrepreneur, will this year host the eighth staging of her annual fundraiser. The event – Ms Letna Healing Hope Fundraising Brunch – which had taken a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, is back on the calendar with a presentation set for October 27.

Allen-Rowe says funds from the event will be donated to the Scarborough Health Network’s Centenary Hospital, the TAIBU Community Health Centre, both in Toronto, as well as the Jamaica Cancer Society.

TAIBU Community Health Centre offers black-identifying clients from throughout the Greater Toronto Area access to primary care, health promotion and disease prevention programmes in a culturally affirming environment.

The Clarendon-born thespian, who emigrated to Canada in 1993, says the event has allowed donations to the hospital and to the Jamaica Cancer Society since 2014. This year TAIBU was included.

Allen-Rowe said the fundraising brunch contributed over $52,000 to the Scarborough Centenary Hospital and $12,000 to the Jamaica Cancer Society.

“We’re trying to raise as much money as we possibly can because my aim is to give the hospital a minimum of $5,000 every year. And the balance, after expense, we will split it 50-50 between TAIBU and Jamaica Cancer Society,” she said.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Ulana Kawun, a general surgeon at Scarborough Health Network, Centenary Campus.

The event takes place at the Sts Peter and Paul Banquet Hall in Scarborough and will feature performances by saxophonist Dave McLaughlin, Latoya Mullings, Annika, and Nitro Dance Creations. Marcia Brown, founder and artistic director of Marcia Brown Productions, is to be the host.

UNDERWENT SURGERY

Recalling the birth of her project, ‘Ms Letna’ says she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2011.

During the healing process, she told her doctor that she wanted to do something to give back to the hospital’s cancer department. Her doctor however suggested that she go home and focus instead on her own health.

“I said to her ‘this is going to be my healing if I do this event’. I have to do this event. So I talked about it in 2012 and started my planning with Yanique [her daughter], and in 2013 we had the first one,” she said.

In November 2022, she underwent surgery for other health matters and has been using a wheelchair since January 2023

Allen-Rowe said she wanted to be able to replace even one of the needles or swabs used during her surgery in the department through her fundraising brunch efforts.

She admits that while being confined to a wheelchair has affected how much she is able to do, it hasn’t dampened her passion to continue.

Allen-Rowe said that before using a wheelchair to move around she used to attend many events. Due to her designated daily personal care schedule she must be home when the personal care workers arrive and so cannot attend events at nights.

She now depends on Wheel-Trans, the City of Toronto’s para-transit service that provides a safe and reliable accessible transit option for persons with disabilities.

The Jamaican cultural ambassador, who attended Clarendon College and the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts received the Order of Distinction in the rank of officer for outstanding service to the Jamaican diaspora in Canada in 2020.

Meanwhile,the Walnut Foundation, an organisation founded in 2007 and dedicated to advancing men’s health and wellness within the Black community, has a particular focus on prostate health.

On the last Thursday of every month, it hosts a virtual prostate cancer support meeting and information exchange for men who are recently diagnosed, about to make a treatment decision or are looking for the best treatment possible.

They also discuss concerns about side effects, seek hard facts about the impact of incontinence and sexual function, and can hear about the experiences of other men.

Advisers include certified peer navigators from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre programme.

Anthony Henry, a Jamaican, is the president of the Walnut Foundation and also a prostate cancer survivor who has credited the information provided by the organisation in helping him to navigate his personal journey.