RALLY AROUND THE SOCIETY

The Friends of the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society have been on a super crazy adventure over the past couple of months. 

We have spent a lot of time sharing, exploring, promoting the T&T Cancer Society in an attempt to share in their mission to educate the public about cancer and early detection. We dared to venture outside the limits of a blog to reach our goal by using other social media. 

Through the fantastic response and overwhelming feedback by persons we have learnt a lot and by extension taught a lot through this journey. 

We opened up on a personal level and stepped out of our comfort zones, we shared videos, pictures and experiences. As a group, we do hope that like a good cricket match with the West Indies that those of you who followed this social media roller coaster will continue to RALLY AROUND THE CANCER SOCIETY. 

SUPPORT-ADVOCATE- SAVE A LIFE! 

If you leave this blog with one thing and one thing alone let it be that EARLY DETECTION IS THE BEST PREVENTION!! 

Knowledge is power, GET SCREENED TODAY! 

Thanks for all the support and encouragement. 

Best, 

Friends of the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society 

IN LOVING MEMORY OF SHARON W.- MY FRIEND, WHO PASSED AWAY BECAUSE OF BREAST CANCER

Last Saturday, I lost a friend

Who was dear to me to the very end.
Cancer was its name and only pain was what she gained.  (That changed her life)
It is an awful disease that does not care about its victim.
There was nothing I could have said to take the cancer away.
I never thought that it could have happened to you, Sharon.
You tried radiation and chemotherapy – that did not work.
You experienced suffering and pain for only three months.
It not only affected your body, but your mind and your soul too.
I did not have the strength to visit you - to say goodbye.
I asked myself – “Why did cancer have to enter your life?”
How come this could have happened to someone so wonderful, so reserved, so health-conscious?
That you will not be here with us anymore.
One day we will definitely be together, having a great new life,
As we always did.
Sharon, you will always be in my thoughts and in my heart.
Because all I have are memories (from school days until now).
The fight is finally over.
REST IN PEACE MY FRIEND…I will miss you….

Change: The Lifestyle Challenge

We have taken great pride in ourselves, as a Caribbean people, over many decades in our irresistible local dishes including Creole, Chinese, Indian, Asian and African menus. Many of these foods are filled with starches and are prepared with lots of highly flavored seasonings that are sodium based and cook with lots of butter and oils, which are high in cholesterol!

Our everyday West Indian lifestyles, our food regime and traditions, like eating late at nights, drinking excessively and smoking are among the main contributors affecting the fight against cancer and in no small way undoing the efforts to combat the spread of the disease.

Like any other disease, the key to addressing the scourge of cancer is living a healthy and balance life. That means a balance diet and regular exercises, which is still, not emphasize enough in our list of personal objectives. This is especially true of families, who have a history of the disease, which is also a significant factor towards combating cancer and promoting awareness.

It seems that as a young nation we are still in the Awareness Stage, and we need to move to the point of awareness to taking immediate Action and Responsibility to quickly slow the spread of the disease.

With carnival around the corner, you only have to sit on a bench around the Queens Park Savannah, the Eddie Hart Grounds, Arranguez Savannah or Skinner Park at San Fernando to see how our men and women are working their butt off to fit and fit in to their skimpy costumes; and that’s great for our carnival. But combating cancer does not require a seasonal approach, what we need now is encourage this type of individual pursuit of fitness and balance lifestyle throughout the year.

Since the carnival mentality is pervasive in our Triniculture, it’s probably a good thing to start looking at utilizing the positives from our carnival culture to drive people from Awareness of the disease to into continuous and Responsible Action. As a society we have find ways to do more to encourage and promote the benefits of exercise and a healthy food culture, which is essential to improving our quality of life and reducing our medical bills.

It seems like our unhealthy lifestyles as a society generally, may be inextricably linked to our noticeable increases in wealth. The point here is, not to be critical of the increases in household incomes or, the expansion of wealth, but to emphasize the fact that improvements in our standard of living has had little impact on decreasing the spread of non-communicable diseases like cancer.

Especially as there has been a tremendous growth in the number of private and public clinics and hospitals in Trinidad and Tobago; this says a lot, more so, about our quality of life and the need for greater action by decision makers to stem the spread of no communicable diseases like cancer.

Friends of Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society: Interview Done With A Caretaker...

Friends of Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society: Interview Done With A Caretaker...: INTERVIEW  These were the questions asked:  -           Can you state your profession please? -           W...

Interview Done With A Caretaker...

INTERVIEW 

These were the questions asked: 

-          Can you state your profession please?

-          What was your motivation or driving force behind you becoming a nurse?

-          Do you encounter a significant amount of patients with cancer?

-          Among those, would you say breast cancer was the main type that you came across?

-          Were there a lot of children diagnosed with cancer?

-          How do you help patients deal with their trauma of their diagnosis?

-          How does a woman do a home test examination of herself to see if she has breast cancer?

-          What signs should she look for?  What foods should she stay away from?  Is exercise important?

-          Was there ever a time when you were especially disturbed by someone being diagnosed with cancer?     Did it affect your life in any aspect?  

               Is there a story that you remember that you would like to share?

Would you say it drew you closer to God?

-          Would you agree, as a woman, that it would be your advice to others to get themselves checked regularly and that it is important to not only their lives but the effect it has on the lives around them?

LUNG CANCER AWARENESS

If you don't know...NOW YOU KNOW!!

Lung cancer is no laughing matter, non smokers are prone to developing lung cancer if they are constantly exposed to second hand smoke.

What is amazing is that the benefits of quitting are immediate so if you are a smoker QUIT NOW!!!

The Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society plays an integral role in educating persons on the dangers of smoking through lectures and demonstrations using pigs lungs. They have continued the call for smokers to quit through their Facebook page and the use of YouTube videos such as these.  

We as Friends of the Society urge you to do the same, QUIT SMOKING or help a friend to quit! Don't forget to Ribbon Up White, November is lung cancer awareness month! Support. Advocate. Save a life!! 

Ribbon Up Communication

Ribbon Up WHITE!!

That’s the call from the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society and Friends of the Society think it’s a fantastic idea…..social media Gangnam Style!!!

Why is this a great idea? We will explain…..Trinidadians love to ask questions and like Sesame Street has taught most of us…that is a great way of finding things out.

Ribbon Up is an initiative launched by the Society to raise greater awareness of the various cancers and their awareness colours  Like inhaling oxygen the world associates pink with breast cancer; it comes naturally; but what about prostate, pancreatic, brain, lung etc????

The ribbon in social media references will work something like a Facebook post, some people will see, like and move on while others will stop, ask a question leave a comment and hopefully in the process learn something new.

Awareness ribbons help show solidarity towards a cause, help to generate interest and most importantly make people remember!!! And, like the really catchy and silly video posted in this blog everyone would follow suit and Ribbon Up!!! 

The Friends of the Society acknowledges the calls by the Society to Ribbon Up-Advocate-Support and Save a life and as such provided this little gift of awareness-

For more information on the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society please call them TOLL FREE at 800-TTCS (8827) 

November is LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!!

RIBBON UP WHITE!!