Guyana Cancer Foundation now member of American Cancer Society

Mar 21, 2022 News

– Local patients to benefit from timely support

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Cancer Foundation (GCF) is moving closer to its goal of helping to provide improved care and support for cancer patients in Guyana. This comes after the GCF gained membership to the American Cancer Society.

GCF founder Ms. Bibi Saeedah Aktar Hassan.

GCF founder Ms. Bibi Saeedah Aktar Hassan told Kaieteur News that the foundation will soon sign a contract in Miami and participate in a training programme as it finalizes the partnership.
Hassan, who recently observed her 17th Anniversary as a cancer advocate in Guyana is elated at the prospects of the new partnership with the American Cancer Society. She told this newspaper that the news of their acceptance comes months after she was invited to be part of the group by the Strategic Director for the American Cancer Society in the Caribbean.
“This is actually timely support and an answer to a prayer I made years ago for the Cancer Foundation to be a member of the American Cancer Society. So, I’m really excited about the tremendous support that it can garner for cancer patients here,” she said.
The cancer treatment advocate explained that Guyana has a far way to go in terms of improving the treatment offered to the terminally ill. She noted that as Head of the foundation, she is often reminded of this fact. “We are in need of several pieces of equipment and so forth to help with the treatment for cancer patients. For instance, we need a bone scan machine. That’s something that we don’t have. We also need a low cost radiation therapy centre…That’s something we have been lobbying some overseas partners like the Mount Sinai International Hospital in New York to get,” she said.
The cancer advocate noted that while the ultimate goal is to eradicate cancer altogether, acquiring assistance from the American Cancer Society to improve the care and treatment offered to patients here will go a far way in meeting the end goal. Hassan said “We can make a difference in saving lives, and while our goal may seem enormous, we want to eradicate breast and cervical cancer in Guyana by 2025, if not the whole or even a half of the country, at least in one community or area, where we can say women are free from cancer.”
She emphasised nevertheless, that the success of this task depends on partnership with the government, international funding institutions, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and all of society.
The GCF is registered under the Friendly Society of Guyana Act as a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Hassan has been with the GCF since 2005 when a small group of Avon part-time representatives was selected by the CEO of Beauty and Home Innovations (BHI) Guyana, Ms. Ann Singh, who also helped to set up the Avon Community Help Fund to start breast cancer awareness in Guyana. Hassan was selected by the committee to be the treasurer of the fund. From there on her journey started with the fund to create awareness and education. The Avon Community Help Fund and its representatives started to raise funds through the business community and with the help of their close friends they started their education and awareness programme. Over the years, Hassan has been lobbying corporate sponsors to continue her work.