September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and as a leading partner in the community and employer concerned about the health and well-being of its staff, RBC Royal Bank hosted an informative session on Cancer with the educational team from The Bahamas Cancer Society. In a one-hour session that covered everything from what cancer is, to treatment and preventative measures, RBC employees learned lessons that will hopefully reduce the number of cancer seen in The Bahamas.

Khalila Ambrister, H.R. Generalist thought the session was “really good and very informative.” In fact, according to Ambrister “I wish the session had been longer given the valuable information that was shared. Cancer is so prevalent in my family but the info on childhood cancer really stuck with me.”

Overall, in children less than 15 years of age, in the industrialized world, childhood cancer is listed as the 4th most common cause of death.

Statistics regarding childhood cancer in The Bahamas are limited, something that the Cancer Society hopes to change according to its Program Coordinator Melissa Major. The Cancer Society is working on a National Cancer Registry that would ensure both private and public healthcare service providers provide data on persons with cancer. Leukemia appears to be the most prevalent cancer among children in The Bahamas and though research has still not been able to conclude why children get cancer, it is believed that 5% is caused by inherited mutation of the genes. There are no screenings for childhood cancer, but Major encouraged RBC staff to pay careful attention to their children by taking their aches and pains seriously.

Screenings do exist for many adult cancers including breast, prostate and colon cancer. Major warned that there has been an increase in colon cancer diagnosis over the last year, this stood out to Claudia Rolle, Risk Manager. “I was particular interested in learning about the rates of colon cancer in The Bahamas. I also realize the importance of doing my own research and making my own decisions about how best to prevent the disease, especially when I think of my daughter and consider things like whether or not to give her the HPV vaccine.” HPV or Human papillomavirus is a virus that is known to cause cervical cancer a vaccine is currently available for teenagers.

While the HPV vaccine might prevent cervical cancer, Major also offered RBC staff other alternatives including;

· eat a healthy, balanced diet.

· maintain a healthy weight.

· stay physically active.

· drink less alcohol.

· stop smoking.

· protect your skin from sun damage.

· know your body.

These tips were particularly useful to Andia Delancy, Manager, RBC Mortgage Relief Program who said “It’s inspired me to take a different approach to fitness goals, eating and my overall lifestyle, not just for me, but for my family. We can catch this before it starts with a lifestyle change if we become proactive rather than reactive.”

Major applauded RBC for its efforts in bringing the message of cancer home” I find that when we partner with companies like RBC, it’s easy to bring our mission of education to life. Many people are afraid to even talk about cancer, but forums like this are especially rewarding.”

By Sharell Carroll