‘Big People Party’ gate proceeds donated to help kids with cancer

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Local efforts to accurately diagnose children with cancer have received a boost to the tune of EC$5,500.

Observer’s Managing Director and St George MP Algernon ‘Serpent’ Watts donated the entirety of the gate proceeds from last Friday’s ‘Big People Party’ to the hospital’s Paediatric Department.

The gift – which came on the heels of September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – was welcomed by the department’s head Dr Shivon Belle-Jarvis.

“For us, this is really significant. It takes a community to make a difference and we hope more people will follow suit,” she told Observer.

“We want to use the money on diagnostics and overall management of cancer cases in children. Some people might not know but currently all child cancer cases in Antigua and Barbuda are sent overseas – usually to the US, Jamaica or Cuba – as we are not equipped to care for them here,” Dr Belle-Jarvis explained.

Financial assistance is also offered in such cases by the Medical Benefits Scheme along with other generous benefactors. But funds are always needed to help with flight tickets, accommodation costs and other expenses, Dr Belle-Jarvis said.

Some families can spend more than a year abroad while their child is treated, she explained.

Typically, one to two children each year are diagnosed with cancer in the twin island nation. And detection may not always be prompt due to the lack of preventative mechanisms in place for adults such as mammograms and prostate screening.

“The World Health Organization estimates that in high-income countries, 80 percent of children diagnosed with cancer are cured. In low and middle-income countries, that figure is just 30 percent,” Dr Belle-Jarvis said.

“It’s unfair to have your fate determined by where you’re born.”

In addition to the Paediatric Ward donation, Watts also gifted a slew of hygiene items to the Bishop John E Knight Golden Age Home in Upper Gambles.

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