Postby pups » October 2nd, 2009, 1:41 am
A cancer survivor is appealing to Government to equip the St James Medical Complex with a linear accelerator machine to assist thousands of people in getting radiation treatment.
The machine emits radiation, one of the procedures used in the fight against the condition. In an interview yesterday survivor Shirley Ramnarine said thousands of people including herself are awaiting radiation. She said she cannot afford to pay for the therapy privately as it costs $120,000 for 20 sessions. Ramnarine said while the St James Complex has a Cobalt machine, there was a desperate need to equip the hospital with a linear accelerator machine.
She said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in January. After undergoing two surgeries to remove the cancerous growth, she underwent four sessions of chemotherapy at St James. Doctors later told her that she required 20 sessions, each lasting five minutes. She explained that the staff members at the St James Infirmary were overworked and their efforts were undermined by lack of equipment. “Cancer is becoming a global health issue and according to the World Health Organisation it is going to increase by great numbers.
That is why Government must purchase a linear accelerator for the St James Medical Complex.
It is needed and thousands of lives will be saved if Government invests this $12 million to buy the equipment,â€
YOU know what causes cancer???!!
