KINGSTON, Jamaica — One hundred women will benefit from free mammograms courtesy of a donation of $500,000 from investment company Sygnus.

The donation was made to the Jamaica Cancer Society and will go towards covering the fees for 100 women to do a mammogram screening to assist with the early detection of breast cancer.

Commenting on the donation, vice president of Wealth Management and Head of Client Services at Sygnus, Elizabeth James said: “Over the last two years Sygnus has donated approximately J$1,000,000 to facilitate 200 women across the island to complete their mammogram screenings at the Jamaica Cancer Society for the early detection of breast cancer. With breast cancer still the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Jamaican women above the age of 25 years, at Sygnus, we believe that early detection is an important way to give our Jamaican women an opportunity to fight this disease and as such we will continue to play our part in assisting women to get screened.

A mammogram is specialised medical imaging that uses a low-dose x-ray system to see inside the breasts and can aid in detecting breast cancer before it can be felt. The main goal of screening exams is to identify breast abnormalities and when mammography is combined with clinical breast exams and breast self-exams, the chances for detection are increased.

It has been proven that women whose breast cancer is detected at an early stage have a 93 per cent or higher survival rate in the first five years. 

“The Sygnus team believes that every individual should be able to have access to screening for early detection of breast cancer. The global pandemic has brought several financial challenges to many households, which has led to the de-prioritisation of breast cancer screening for many of our women. We believe that this is an opportunity to assist in continuing the conversation around the awareness of breast cancer, and the importance of early screening,” James continued.

Acting Executive Director at the Jamaica Cancer Society, Michael Leslie, who was on location for the check handover said, “The Jamaica Cancer Society expresses our sincere gratitude to Sygnus for their kind donation of J$500,000 to do mammography screening for 100 underserved women in need.”

For more details on how to access a free mammogram to aid in the early detection of breast cancer, please contact the Jamaica Cancer Society’s administrative office at 876-579-7097.