MONTEGO Bay, St James – With the incidence of breast cancer on the increase and the cost of a mammogram running between $2,200 and $3,000, Montego Bay radiographer Carlene Rankine has taken an initiative, which has enabled 85 women to do the tests at no cost to them.

“The idea was to get more people to do mammograms because mammograms are a little bit expensive so we sent out sponsorship letters and quite a few companies responded to these letters,” Rankine, who is employed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in the city, told the Observer this week.

The radiographer, who was speaking following the presentation of cheques from the Rotary Club of Montego Bay and Digicel, at the hospital, noted that a number of women were reluctant to do mammograms because of the high cost and the stigma associated with doing the examination.

The Rotary Club sponsored 40 of the examinations while the telecommunications giant, Digicel absorbed the cost of 20. Several other companies and individuals made monetary contributions, which will cover the costs of the 25 other women.

The initiative is one that the radiography unit at the hospital intends to undertake annually.