BOTTOM LEFT: Pictured from left are Peter Andrews, Chairman Bahamas Waste; Minister Griffin; multiple cancer survivor Simeon Hartley Strachan; and Francisco de Cardenas, Managing Director, Bahamas Waste; TOP: Chapter Leader, Valentine Maura, second right, was on hand for the "Big Pink” Unveiling. BOTTOM RIGHT: Multiple cancer survivor, Mr. Simeon Hartley Strachan, assists Minister Griffin with unveiling the truck bearing his likeness. (BIS Photos/Matt Maura)

NASSAU, The Bahamas – Officials at Bahamas Waste went “pink” Thursday, joining local and global efforts to bring greater attention to cancer awareness, education and prevention, with its “Big Pink” Unveiling Ceremony.

The “Big Pink” Initiative coincides with the celebration of Cancer Awareness Month globally. One of the company’s trucks has been spray-painted pink and emblazoned with the image of multiple cancer survivor, and Bahamas Waste employee, Mr. Hartley Strachan, who was first diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in February, 2006 and this year (March, 2014) diagnosed with Colon Cancer.

Minister of Social Services and Community Development, the Hon. Melanie S. Griffin said the initiative by Bahamas Waste was “creative and innovative” -- the truck bearing Mr. Strachan’s image and the slogan: “Real Men Wear Pink: Let’s Trash Cancer” along with other educational information will be placed into operation as a means of expanding the education and awareness campaign.

Mrs. Griffin also announced that the Government of The Bahamas is working with noted Breast Cancer specialist Dr. Judith Hurley of the University of Miami on the finalization of a Bahamas Mutation Panel that will be a cost-effective test to screen women of Bahamian descent for certain mutations.

“Notwithstanding the great challenge that breast and other cancers pose to our country, the evidence is clear that these can be avoided through awareness-raising of the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles and through preventative measures such as screening and early detection,” Mrs. Griffin said.

“We therefore need more initiatives such as this one to encourage women and men to make good lifestyle decisions that will positively affect their health and the health of their families.”

Mrs. Griffin said the incidences of non-communicable diseases – breast and cervical cancer in particular – are a source of major concern in The Bahamas and indeed the world. Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in females and was the third-leading cause of deaths in females in 2010.

According to research conducted by Dr. Hurley, The Bahamas has the highest incidence of inherited breast cancer in the world and that the average age of women at the time they are diagnosed with the disease is lower than that of women in the United States.

“Dr. Hurley reckoned that almost 50 per cent of the women in The Bahamas diagnosed with breast cancer are under the age of 50 at the time they are diagnosed and a full 20 per cent under the age of 40 on diagnoses.

“What Dr. Hurley also found is that 44.6 per cent, almost half, of these women under-50 when diagnosed were either at Stage 3 or Stage 4 in comparison to the United States where that figure is 12 per cent.”

Taking her cue from a slogan used on Denim Day, Minister Griffin said you cannot fight breast cancer (or any other form of cancer) with ribbons alone. “You fight it with a team.”

“This initiative by Bahamas Waste is a new addition to the team in the fight against cancer,” Minister Griffin said. “I am sure that most, if not all of us, have a relative or friend or know of someone who has been diagnosed with cancer and can personally understand the emotional and economic burden this can have on women and their families. These effects are all the more burdensome for women who may be personally affected by the disease or may be primary caregivers for those who are.

“I am sure that the organizations that will benefit from the Bahamas Waste initiative join me in commending them for this initiative and I urge other corporate groups to join the team and the fight against cancer,” Mrs. Griffin added.