NEW York, USA — The non-profit Organisation for International Development (OID) based here has announced plans to assist Jamaica in its fight against breast cancer through early detection and education about the disease.

The assistance is being provided in the form of a mobile mammography unit which will be used to carry out early screening, with emphasis on remote regions of the island, said Roy Streete who is chairman of the OID.

“The unit has already been acquired and retrofitted at a cost of US$300,000 through several fund-raising initiatives and help from the business community and some organisations here,” Streete told the
Jamaica Observer.

“We are now at the stage where we are just awaiting an import licence from the Trade Board in Jamaica so we can ship the unit. All the necessary paperwork has already been submitted, and so we believe and are hoping that the licence will be issued shortly,” Streete said.

The acquisition of the mammography unit is part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the OID and the Mandeville, Manchester-based Northern Caribbean University (NCU).

Streete said that the university would be administering and managing the programme of education to promote early screening that will detect and provide treatment for the disease.

The institution will be seeking to forge partnerships with other entities such as the Jamaica Cancer Society, the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the private sector in its drive to reduce breast and other cancers through emphasis on early detection.

The mammography unit will also be used to conduct pap smear, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA), both of which can help determine the early onset of cancer in women and men.

Statistics from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for 2025 predicted that new cases from all cancer would likely reach over 7,700 for the year in Jamaica and that death from the disease could be in excess of 4,500.

“These figures highlight an increasing need for preventative measures and strengthened cancer control programmes within the country,” IARC says on its website.

Globe Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN), an online database developed by IARC, provides estimates of cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence for 36 cancer types in 185 countries including Jamaica.

The Jamaica Cancer Society has been at the forefront of efforts to defeat cancer of all forms since it was formed in 1955. It provides the Jamaican public with a range of cancer control and preventative services which includes fixed and mobile screening for cancer of the breast, cervix uteri and prostate, according to its website.

It added that its public health education programme on those cancers as well as lung and colon cancer are offered free of cost. to corporate organisations.

Streete has, in the meantime, commended the various organisations and individuals who have contributed to

its efforts in securing the mobile mammography unit. As part of its activities to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month last October, Long Island, New York-based Stooch Images Consulting and Training Corporation contributed US$2,000 to that effort.

Patrice DaCosta, who heads the company, said the funds were raised from an event which brought together health professionals and breast cancer survivors.

The Organisation for International Development and Images Consulting and Trading Corporation are among the many entities here which have been raising funds for projects in Jamaica.