As part of our ongoing initiatives in support of Breast Cancer Awareness in Saint Lucia, we invited a representative from the Ministry of Health and a registered nurse from the Victoria Hospital to host a seminar about importance of self-testing and diagnosing.
None was left out. Employees from both StolenTime by Rendezvous and BodyHoliday were encouraged to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn more. The goal of this session was to create an open-air environment where persons could ask questions and leave with a better understanding of the signs of breast cancer and truths versus myths about a disease.
The session began with guest speaker Nadiege Smith who broke the ice with her affable personality and realistic explanations. She encouraged the team to embrace themselves and understand that the topic of “breast cancer” should not be perceived with a conservative mindset as it is known to be the leading cause of death for women in Saint Lucia.
Nurse Alison, from the Victoria Hospital in Saint Lucia, seamlessly followed suit and shared her expertise with the team. Stressing the fact that adult women should examine their breasts once every month as it builds familiarisation of the look and feel of a healthy breast.
It quickly moved into an interactive and unexpectedly fun component where she not only used herself but a silicone model to demonstrate the process. This included:
- Lying down & using three middle fingers to apply three levels of pressure in a circular motion.
- Examining the underarm whilst upright.
- Checking for changes with hands on hips whilst chest muscles are relaxed.
Our luxury resorts team members were eager to attempt the at-home instructions on silicone models provided by Nurse Alison and Nadeige. With only a few precise steps under the watchful eye of our facilitators, they were able to successfully find the unusual glands strategically planted into the moulds.
As the interaction in the training rooms increased, employees were also able to have one on one sessions with the nurse where they found solutions to many of their questions about breast cancer. Questions such as “how to relate with a loved one who is presently fighting with the disease?” and “how could they avoid it themselves as it runs in their family bloodline?” were amongst many, yet thoroughly answered.
All too soon, the session had to come to an end. The knowledgeable guest speakers were presented with a token of appreciation from two of the best resorts in Saint Lucia and as for the employees, little did they know that this was not the end as they were offered free mammogram testing completely covered by BodyHoliday and StolenTime by Rendezvous.