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The month of October is breast cancer awareness month and last week our speakers were Andrea Sweeting and Penelope Nottage from the Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group.
Sister Sister was started by three compassionate individuals. Who worked out of the surgical suite. They started having women speak to others and understand what the concept is because cancer is not a death sentence.
We were given information on doing self assessments to see if there is anything abnormal and also on the treatments given. Ms. Sweeting said that age 40 is not a bit late to do a mammogram as women are now getting breast cancer earlier than that. Sister Sister relies on corporate sponsorship, fraternity and sorority groups and others for support but they have been challenged since the pandemic.
Sister Sister's program "tea and oncology" was affected by the pandemic. They started packaging bags which contained tea, gingermints, juice, coconut water and other items. The bags are given to women getting treatment to help to make them comfortable. Sister Sister also helped in testing women for the BRCCA gene which most Bahamian women carry.
Ms. Penelope Nottage told the club of her experience volunteering with Sister Sister and with her own cancer journey. She gave us insight into the Sister Sister meetings and what the format of the meetings are. Ms. Nottage stressed the importance of getting tested and seeking treatment if any issues are found.
The club appreciated the presentation and the work that Sister Sister is doing to support women who have breast cancer and their work raising awareness about breast cancer.
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