By JEFFARAH GIBSON
Tribune Features Writer
jgibson@tribunemedia.net
PROVIDING breast cancer survivors with first-hand information on how to improve the quality of their lives was the aim of the first health seminar hosted by the Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group last Saturday.
Local and international medical professionals were featured as guest speakers during the event and covered a wide range of cancer-related topics, from pharmaceuticals to nutrition, lymphoedema, breast reconstruction surgery and more.
Medical professionals who participated in the seminar included Kitiboni Rolle-Adderley, a physical and lymphoedema therapist; pharmacist Mimi Roberts; nutritionist Dr Ann Rolle; US patient navigator Shelly Weiss, and Dr L Raul Arroyo from the Jupiter Medical Centre in Florida.
Sister Sister President Andrea Sweeting said the seminar exposed survivors to a wealth of information that can help them on their journey.
“The main reason we hosted the event was because as a group we have attended seminars in the US, Canada and elsewhere. When we come back here and tell persons they should do this or do that, they look at us like, ‘Who made you God?’ So we wanted them to hear from the professionals themselves in terms of what they should and should not do and how their lives can be improved,” Ms Sweeting told Tribune Health.
“The seminar was very interesting and the only regret we had was that we did not tape the event. A lot of people who did not get a chance to attend the seminar have been asking whether we have any footage from the event because they missed it.”
Ms Sweeting said the Sister Sister group will host another health seminar later in year which will be just as informative as this first one.
“A major takeaway from the event is that there is life and there is hope. There are so many people available to you to get you through the journey. Your life cannot be the best, but you can to cope with it,” she said.
“For all the reviews we have gotten and all the persons that have been asking, we have decided that we will host it again in November. There was just too much information for the women not to be able to handle. The longer we wait, the more the event will lose its momentum and that is why we are jumping on board to try to get it to happen as soon as possible.
Next on the agenda for Sister Sister is their annual meet and greet with international cancer survivors who will travel on a cruise ship to the Bahamas on Friday. The event will take place at the Marina Village and will feature entertainment from the Police Force Band and students from Kingsway Academy, Queens College and Albury Sayle Primary School.
The event is sponsored by Atlantis and begins at 10am.
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