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Women on the Move Stage 17th Cancer Awareness Walk
– described as largest to date
By Enid Joaquin
They walked, they ran and they jogged. It was a case of “different strokes for different folks,” but the goal was one and the same, that is, to raise Cancer awareness, and show support for those affected or afflicted by the disease.
The cancer awareness walk/run/jog which was yesterday hosted by “Women on the Move” was described by many as the largest and best so far.
There were contingents from the Linden Hospital Complex, One Mile Health Centre, Bosai Bauxite Inc., a few schools and families and friends who would have lost loved ones to cancer.
Persons congregated at the Linden Utility Services Cooperative Society Limited (LUSCSL) on Burnham Drive, Wismar, as early as 5:30 hrs, and trekked across the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge to the Washer Pond Road, and down to the Linden/Georgetown Bus Park, for the grand finale.
Surprisingly, no one seemed tired but rather energised, as most of the participants engaged in fun and fitness exercises, choreographed by a local fitness guru.
Later, the groups were rewarded for their hard work and participation with trophies and other tokens of appreciation.
Most importantly, however, was the keynote address by Dr Karen Perreira of the Linden Hospital Complex who spoke about the human papillomavirus (HPV) which predisposes women to cancer.
Dr Perriera advised both men and women to have regular checkups.
She admonished that every female who is twenty one and over should start screening for cervical cancer, and that this procedure should be done every three years.
Participants having health fun at the park after the walk
Participants converge at the Linden/Georgetown Bus Park
Between age thirty to sixty-five, females should have a combined pap smear and HPV screening every five years, Dr Perreira said.
The doctor said that cervical cancer is now the leading cancer in Guyana.
She explained that cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix. The cervix is part of a woman’s reproductive system that connects the uterus or womb to the upper part of the vagina.
Almost all cervical cancers are caused by a long-lasting infection caused by one of the HPV viruses, Dr Perriera said, noting that there are over one hundred of these viruses in existence, but not all of them cause cancer.
She detailed that the HPV infection is spread through sexual or skin to skin contact.
According to the doctor, sometimes in cervical cancer, there are no signs or symptoms, but as the cancer begins to spread to other tissues, the symptoms begin to appear.
Some symptoms include abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as bleeding after menopause, bleeding after sex, bleeding or spotting between periods, longer, heavier menstrual cycles, and pain during sexual intercourse.
Abnormal discharge
The doctor explained further that ‘whites’ which many women refer to as normal is not, but is an abnormal discharge.
“You are not supposed to be passing ‘whites;’ that is an abnormal discharge. Yes, the vagina cleans itself, but the characteristic of the normal discharge is something different. It is similar to what you get when you have a runny nose. Once it begins to get ‘cream’ and yellowish, that is an abnormal vaginal discharge,” Dr Perreira pointed out.
Some risk factors for cervical cancer are being HIV positive, being overweight, tobacco use, chlamydia infection and long term use of contraceptives, which the doctor said is a major risk factor. She said too that having a baby before the age of fourteen is also another risk factor, as well as family history of the disease.
She advised that eliminating these risk factors could help in greatly reducing persons’ chances of getting the disease.
Both coordinators and participants agreed that this year’s event has been the biggest and best to date.
The Cancer Awareness Walk was initiated in Linden, 17 years ago by the group “Women on the Move”, which is headed by Judy Gravesande Noel, along with founder member Gleneth Arthur, Janet Allen, Camille Cummings and Wanda Richmond.
Both Noel and Arthur expressed satisfaction with this year’s turnout and participation.
They also expressed gratitude to their sponsors including Brusche’s Basketball Foundation who donated tee shirts among other things.
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