Alternative Investments firm Sygnus has continued in its tradition of supporting the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS). This year, the company added Jamaica Reach to Recovery by presenting $500,000 to aid women and men across the island with mammogram screenings and financial support for treatments.
The investment company, for the last three years, has stood firmly in the cause for breast cancer awareness, and this year $300,000 from their total donation will provide 60 women with the opportunity to get free mammogram screenings which will assist with the early detection of breast cancer.
Mammograms are specialised medical imaging of the breast and are usually encouraged to be done around the age of 40. While this screening is essential, many are not able to afford it.
Acting Executive Director, Michael Leslie, who was on location at the cheque handover, expressed his gratitude to the Sygnus Group and shared the battles many women face with affording a mammogram.
“First of all, I must formally thank the Sygnus Group for their continued contribution and support to the Jamaica Cancer Society. As you know the JCS recommends that women get their mammograms at the age of 40, as this is the gold standard, and this test will allow us to detect a lump as small as a pinhead. However, not all women can afford it. With Sygnus on board for the past three years, their contribution and their donation has helped us to help others who need a mammogram and can’t afford to pay for it,” Leslie said, adding his hopes for a continued partnership with the alternative investment company.
This year, Sygnus has also extended its support to the Jamaica Reach To Recovery with $200,000 for their initiative which will go towards providing financial aid for those suffering from the disease.
Also present at the handover, Jamaica Reach To Recovery’s Chairman, Carolind Graham noted that with these funds they are able to “assist women in accessing tests and treatments. Because a diagnosis of breast cancer entails several tests and several treatments along the way, and they are all expensive. In many cases, women simply can’t afford them. So they come to us and we assist them in getting these things done.”
The JR2R, a group of breast cancer survivor volunteers, for the past 45 years, has been supporting both women and men who have been diagnosed with the disease and are on their journey to recovery. While noting that they do not act in the capacity of a doctor or counsellor, the JR2R chairman expressed, having gone through similar experiences, volunteers are able to assist persons in successfully charting their road to recovery.
Though annually observed in the month of October, the fight still goes on for those battling cancer daily, and Sygnus has committed itself to not only assisting with early detection but survival as well.
“Over the last two years, Sygnus has donated over J$1,000,000 to the Jamaica Cancer Society to help with screening at least 200 women, awarding them free mammograms to ensure early detection. This year, however, we decided to include a donation to the JR2R as well. With this, we can help not only those seeking early detection but those on their journey to recovery. We can aid in increasing the number of survivors of one of the most common cancers found in Jamaican women, and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths,” said Elizabeth James, Vice President and Head of Wealth and Client Strategy at Sygnus Capital.
Source: Loop News
