Transcript
SHELLEY BURICH: Because we don't have screening programmes here it is important for us to teach our women here in Samoa, what is cancer, what are the early warning signs of cancer and breast cancer. And then we also advocate and push for them to consider changing their lifestyles. Eating healthy foods, not the processed, stay away from alcohol or reduce your alcohol intake, definately do not smoke, all of those messages we push in all of our outreaches. And we have a Vave campaign that we've been doing for this year. And the three key messages in that Vave campaign is; Vave iloa, which is early detection, Vave e vaai se foma'i, which is quickly see a doctor, and Vave vili mai, which is quickly call the Cancer Society for more information. So we've been pushing those three key messages throughout all of our campaigns and our cancer ads.
JENNY MEYER: Do you think that the message is getting through to women that it doesn't have to be a death sentence that there is treatment available and you can survive breast cancer?
SB: Yes, yes we do. That is a big message that we push. And I think the people that can help us push that message are the actual breast cancer survivors. We have a couple of champions who are willing to share their voice and push women that this does not have to be a death sentence, you have to come forward. Late presentation is a big problem here, a big, big problem. All too often we're unable to help them because they've just left it too late. So the biggest message that we can push really is early detection and come in early. Even if they feel a small lump and they're not quite sure what it is. All lumps don't necessarily mean that it is breast cancer. But if you feel a lump and you're unsure you need to still come through and get it checked out.
JM: And you said there that there's no screening programme, does that mean that there is no mammogram in Samoa?
SB: There is a mammogram here but there's no national screening programme set up for it. But in saying that I know that our National Health Service are working towards that. They have been using the Samoa Cancer Society in helping them to train the radiology department in using their mammogram machine and knowing how to read. Unfortunately here we have a machine, and then we have one person that was trained in it and when that one person leaves the country to get further training, there's no one else that can operate it. So NHS are now training more people in that area and we're hoping that by the beginning of next year that we can start implementing our breast cancer screening programmes.
