Fight against cancer requires unity, not segregation - says President of US-based NGO

Fight against cancer requires unity, not segregation – says President of US-based NGO

Oct 26, 2016 News

Although health sectors across the world have not been opposed to civil society’s support to advance the delivery of health care, there has always been a constant reminder that a united approach is always better than an individual fight.
This notion was recently amplified by Ms. Carol Bagot, President of the United States-based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) – Organisation for Social and Health Advancement in Guyana (OSHAG).
Bagot, a US-based Guyanese, is currently in Guyana with a team of health volunteers who are helping to battle the scourge of cancer.
Delving into activities to provide treatment, and other aspects of health care while simultaneously raising awareness about the disease and how it can be prevented has been part of Bagot’s yearly sojourn here.
She migrated to the United States many years ago but has had an intrinsic passion for returning home and lending support in the field of health care with a particular focus on cancer. This is understandable since Bagot herself is a cancer survivor. She was able to learn some years ago that her homeland (Guyana) was lacking not only in the area of treatment but education as it relates to cancer. The outcome was that far too many people were dying because they accessed treatment too late.
Against this backdrop Bagot said that she became determined to make the daunting state of affairs a thing of the past. She decided to reach out to the local health sector through OSHAG, an organisation she founded. The organisation was founded with the intention of empowering Guyanese and others from the Caribbean community through health education and referral services.

Ms. Carol Bagot, President of OSHAG

OSHAG has not only been offering its support to Guyana’s main public health institution, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) but it has been facilitating outreaches in Berbice and other areas of the country. These outreaches are conducted by medical experts who have been giving their support through OSHAG.
Through OSHAG’s support the GPHC has in place an Oncology Unit complete with a section dedicated to the free administration of chemotherapy. OSHAG is currently putting measures in place to have the Unit air conditioned. It has also initiated a programme called “Feel Good, Look Good” which provides wigs to patients, who have lost their hair because of chemotherapy, with the hope of helping them to feel good about their appearance.
While such support usually manifests during October when cancer awareness is observed, Bagot is hoping for efforts to be focused on a year-round movement in this regard.
But according to her, realising this goal will require like-minded organisations and individuals to work together. Already OSHAG’s efforts have been endorsed by both the Ministry of Public Health and the GPHC and Bagot disclosed that she is willing to work with anyone whose genuine interest is to help arrest the scourge of cancer.
While she is not opposed to other organisations involved in independent cancer awareness activities, Bagot did share her concern that “there is always duplication of services and I am hoping that those behind all of our organisations can put country and service first so that we can do things in a bigger way.
“I think working along with the various organisations would help to solidify our efforts instead of us working separately. I think bringing us together and doing things collectively should be the goal because at the end of the day we should be focused on the people who need the care and not ourselves…together we can do so much more,” Bagot confidently theorized.
And should the proposed collaboration materialise, Bagot said that her expectation is that “we would be able to do this work with a humanistic effort that is intrinsic in us…when we find ourselves in areas of service or humanitarian work there is this intrinsic desire to serve. I hope that we can have oneness with regards to what should be done.”
Bagot was recently able to forge a strategic relationship with a nurse who has for years, practised oncology nursing in the United States. The nurse, Maureen Chukwujindu, is a Guyanese who also resides in the United States. She has over the years been able to do a great deal for cancer patients, including establishing cancer support groups for both patients and their family members.
Last year she returned to Guyana and conducted an outreach to raise awareness about cancer. However, Chukwujindu said that when she met Bagot in the United States and realised that their goals were the same she immediately recognised the need for a merger.
“I hope that we can be an example to others…it is not about us, it is about the patients and the people of Guyana. If we can take ‘self’ away from it, it would be a great thing…if we are just focused on helping because there are a lot of needs here, there are a lot of people here who need our help,” Chukwujindu added.
Keen on lending support, too, is Nurse Ingrid Porter who has also forged ties with OSHAG. Porter, who is also United States-based, said, “I will work with anyone who wants to make a difference. I am just interested in the patients and the staff who cares for them so I am open for anyone to use me as they see fit.”
And according to Porter, since she is currently retired she is willing to remain in Guyana for the next few months and will be available to volunteer her expertise even after cancer awareness month would have ended.
Both nurses are here in Guyana as part of the OSHAG team facilitating a three-day palliative care training session for nurses at the GPHC.
Even as Bagot looks forward to collaborations to realise the continued cancer awareness goal, she revealed that efforts are underway for OSHAG to set up a permanent office in Guyana. These efforts are currently being fast tracked by the organisation’s Treasurer, Ms. Statia Solomon, who related that “we are currently looking for that space to accommodate our work.”