The natural disaster that was Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted Bahamian society to the point where people who need diagnosis and treatment have been staying home and not seeking medical attention, according to internal medicine physician Dr. Williamson Chea. But he is encouraging people to make an effort to visit their physicians when necessary.
Chea, who is also president of the Cancer Society of The Bahamas (CSOB), said many patients would say seeking medical attention has been difficult since 2019 and the devastating hurricane followed by a pandemic.
“The testing isn’t as quick as you would like it [to be] – treatment itself is a bit delayed; COVID testing to get to and from New Providence to the Family Islands has been a bit costly, so, in essence, the COVID pandemic has made things a bit more difficult – quite difficult in some instances,” said Chea.
But the physician said they still have to see patients and try to get them through their investigations and treatment plans to a result, which, hopefully, can be good.
“We have seen a lot of delays in treatment. People have been staying home and not seeking out medical attention and their disease has progressed,” said the doctor.
“We encourage people to still try and see their physicians when necessary, and if you need help in terms of cancer and trying to get appointments, by all means we can try and facilitate that as well,” said the CSOB president.
Chea’s comments were made at a presentation of $70,214.10 to CSOB by the Cancer Society Ball Committee, proceeds from a virtual ball held to raise funds to help CSOB continue its operations.
“The Cancer Society has been open throughout the hurricanes and the pandemic, serving the people of The Bahamas. We have our caring center where we house 10 people from the Family Islands with their caregivers – we house them, we take them to their investigations, we take them to their treatments and we need funds to continue our cause, so the virtual ball essentially raised funds for us and will go a long way in assisting the Bahamian population. We have these natural disasters, and COVID, unfortunately, does not know that these are happening. Cancer continues to flourish in our community and we continue to try and help battle the cancer.”
CSOB is a non-profit organization established to serve the public through educational programs aimed at bringing awareness to early detection, prevention and treatment of cancer while providing temporary accommodations, as well as social and emotional needs for cancer patients in a peaceful, secure and supportive environment.
“With the natural disasters and COVID pandemic, we have been unable to really raise funds in our usual way, so the ball committee developed a plan to do a virtual ball. The ball was a success,” said Chea.
The ball committee raises funds to assist with the society’s programs to help with awareness and screening programs. Along with the Cancer Caring Centre, CSOB assists with free pap smears and mammograms for women, and PSA blood testing and digital examination for men.
According to Chea, CSOB also offers financial assistance to people who are in dire need, to help pay for the cost of investigations or treatments.
“We have a lot of these programs to assist people who may or may not have cancer, and promote screening and healthy living in the community. Because of the pandemic and natural disaster, funding has not been as good as it’s been in the past, but we still thank corporate Bahamas, those that have been contributing, and we hope for continued support.”
CSOB also offers an adult cancer support group, for ages 40-plus, affected by cancer – a safe space where they can share their experiences – as they say each person diagnosed with cancer varies greatly from one to another, and a good support system is needed for them to cope though the different stages of their process.
The support is not only offered to patients suffering from specific or any types of cancer, but also for those who support patients through suffering such as caregivers.
The Freedom Kids Support Group, the youth arm of Freedom Survivors Support Group, caters to the younger children diagnosed with cancer and sickle cell diseases.
Freedom Survivors targets adolescents and young adults, while Freedom Kids caters to children ranging in age from two to 17.
Lovern Wildgoose, co-chair of the Cancer Society of The Bahamas, said they were happy to have raised some funds, which allows the society to continue its work.
“We have a lot of patients coming in who don’t have the funds or are very tight and need it even to do their treatments, so I’m happy we have raised funds. We wanted to give $60,000 and we surpassed that after expenses.”
On the eve of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Wildgoose said the committee members had put plans in place for fundraising, including staging their walk, which was postponed from February, but which they now have to cancel, due to the uptick in virus cases in the third wave. But they are looking to stage a virtual auction to continue their fundraising efforts.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/doctor-encourages-cancer-patients-to-seek-treatment/
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