MONTEGO BAY, St James – The Rotary Club of Montego Bay East is partnering with the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) to host its seventh staging of prostate cancer screening, set for the Meeting Place in the resort city next Monday, from 6:00 am to 2:00pm.

President of the Rotary Club of Montego Bay East Thausha Martin, acknowledged that although the club’s initiative has positively contributed to an increased number of men in Montego Bay who are willing to participate in the two-part screening process which is critical to the detection of prostate cancer, much more needs to be done to reduce the alarmingly high rate of diagnosis locally.

This, she noted, has resulted in the collaboration with the Jamaica Cancer Society.

The Jamaica Cancer Registry statistics state that one in every 10 men in the targeted age range — 40 to 70 years old — will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.

“The combined strength of Rotary’s network and resources and that of our partners — the Jamaica Cancer Society, Cornwall Regional Hospital and the National Health Fund — will bolster our initiative to educate our men and win the fight against prostate cancer,” Martin stressed.

According to Yulit Gordon of the Jamaica Cancer Society, the partnership with the Rotary Club of Montego Bay East and Cornwall Regional Hospital to host the 2017 staging of Prostate Cancer Screening was a natural fit, as it gave her organisation an additional platform to connect with a significant percentage of their targeted audience from a cross-section of communities in western Jamaica.

“The high incidence of prostate cancer necessitates that a strategic approach is employed to stymie its growth,” said Gordon.

“And the fact that Montego Bay has a high day-time population allows us to extend this service to men who reside in many hard-to-reach communities beyond Montego Bay.

Meanwhile, Martin said that this year some 700 people have been targeted for screening, almost 300 more than those screened last year.

“While we know that this is ambitious, the joint outreach efforts of our Rotary Club and the Jamaica Cancer Society will ensure that we are able to achieve it,” she argued.

“We expect to see a combination of new and old clients this year as we reinforce the message that the screening should be part of the annual health check of every Jamaican man between the ages of 40 and 70 years.”

As it was for the first six years, the prostate cancer screening remains free of cost.