MONTEGO BAY, St James — For retired nurse Llauna Gordon-Humphries, getting calls at 5:00 am from people about issues related to cancer is a regular occurrence.

This is as word continues to spread about the work she has been doing with people in relation to counselling and other forms of guidance as they navigate the challenges as it relates to the dreaded disease.

Gordon-Humphries, who is a double cancer survivor, says she has been able to help people and that is why they continue to reach out to her from all over the world despite her being based in St James.

“I see people that doctors give up on in the United States, [the doctors] give them two months to live and they have [lived for] three, four years, because they follow the diets that I give them,” Gordon-Humphries told the Jamaica Observer.

Seated in an office at her church, Holt Trinity on Miriam Way in Montego Bay, Gordon-Humphries said despite being 82 years old, she is propelled on because of the difference she has made to people battling cancer.

“These are the things that keep me going and the lives that have changed. Somebody tells you that they are about to give up and they come and talk to you and they have a different outlook on life, glory to God,” said Gordon-Humphries

She explained that at times she gets a lot of calls, often from people she doesn’t know, who reach out to her seeking help.

“When I get 15 calls in half-an-hour, I can only take one at a time and I say can I call you back and I will deal with it,” added Gordon-Humphries.

She believes that she is well placed to guide these people after going through her own share of issues related to cancer.

Gordon-Humphries has suffered from cervical cancer, breast cancer, and an autoimmune condition referred to as myasthenia gravis.

She was diagnosed with cervical cancer on her return from the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Her breast cancer diagnosis came in 2019.

According to Gordon-Humphries, said she will continue to do the work she has been doing for as long as possible.

She leads an entity, the Montego Bay Cancer and Diabetic Support Group, which she noted has a reach well outside St James.

She has been coordinating the group’s activities since 2010 after its founder Bishop Howard Gregory moved to Kingston.

There are currently 60 people in the group but Gordon-Humphries said more people are coming on board.

“Like yesterday we had four persons added. They went to a funeral of somebody and heard about the group. They are now, for the first time, admitting that they have cancer. They were hiding it and they said they decided to be open with it and come and join the group,” she revealed.

Gordon-Humphries noted that some people have a rough time dealing with the cancer diagnosis and she tries to do her best to address the various issues they might face.

She pointed out that one challenge which impacts many people in Jamaica diagnosed with cancer is the cost of treatment.

“People have to be looked after and the hospital doesn’t carry all of the medication, so I have to try and get help for persons with that,” said Gordon-Humphries as she called for more financial support for people battling cancer.

“Persons need to come on board to help and support. Let me tell you for the cancer survivors, it is very, very necessary. The ports are anywhere between $36,000 and $40,000 just to put it into the breast so they can put the chemo [drug] in.

“Then if they don’t have the chemo [drug] at the hospital, they have to purchase it and sometimes it is $50,000 for one dose. People are not working. Where are they going to find that,” lamented Gordon-Humphries as she pointed to challenges that some people go through when a member of their family is diagnosed with cancer.

“I have two children — four- and 10-year-old. The father of the four-year-old lost his job because he took time out to have his child get chemo. The mother for the 10-year-old is now losing her job because she took time off to take care of him,” added Gordon-Humphries.

She told the Observer that she had to advocate on the behalf of one of the children to get access to do a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the family was told that the list was full at a public medical facility.

“What I want to see is that our Government pays more attention to the health sector for persons who are suffering from cancer. What happens is that we are so short of equipment that it takes ages, when persons are diagnosed, to get them to be treated. The machine break down so they have to wait to go to the private institutions that is packed up and they are expensive,” added Gordon-Humphries.