Sporting a pink t-shirt, with the words “Together let’s fight against cancer,” 12-year-old Shelly Debideen could be found busily assisting the volunteers at a cancer outreach at Kuru Kururu, on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway last month.
Shelly, who was diagnosed two years ago with ovarian cancer, is a cancer survivor. During the outreach, as a group of adults waited to be screened, she shared her experience battling the disease and coping with chemotherapy.
The activity, though organised to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also saw screenings done for other types of cancers, including prostate and cervical cancer. It was the result of a collaboration between the Oncology Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), the Ministry of Public Health and the Cancer Institute of Guyana (CIG) and was intended to give the residents an opportunity to know their status and seek early treatment if required.