JNA has selected Cancer Awareness & Prevention as one of its charitable outreach efforts, partnering with Jamaica’s Cancer Society‘s St Ann and St. Mary branches.
JNA continues to partner on the following:
- Encouraging donations to facilitate screening, and education including counseling, and increased access to treatment.
- Participating and supporting its annual fundraising events, which, however, have been impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic
We are soliciting your generous contribution for this project to help with detecting cancer early before it causes symptoms and when it may be easier to treat successfully. Please donate or pledge today. Contributions are being accepted at our website at www.jnaofdc.org using PayPal. Checks can be mailed to Jamaican Nationals Association, Inc., Post Office Box 56453, Washington, DC 20040. Please specifically indicate donations for the “JNA Partnership Program with the Jamaica Cancer Society – St. Ann and St. Mary Branch.” If you have any questions, please e-mail us at: info@jnaofdc.org.
JNA is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit. Please refer to EIN #521240060 for your contributions, which are tax-deductible to the extent of the law.
Participating in Local Cancer Prevention Awareness
Each month, JNA highlights the various monthly cancer awareness efforts, and encourages persons of Jamaican heritage in the metropolitan area to know the symptoms and undertake prevention efforts. JNA also participates in local efforts to get the word out about these cancers. July’s are focused on Bladder Cancer and Sarcoma Awareness and UV Safety: following:
What Is Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer starts when cells that make up the urinary bladder start to grow out of control. As more cancer cells develop, they can form a tumor and, with time, spread to other parts of the body. (To learn more about how cancers start and spread, see What Is Cancer?)
The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower pelvis. It has flexible, muscular walls that can stretch to hold urine and squeeze to send it out of the body. The bladder’s main job is to store urine. Urine is liquid waste made by the 2 kidneys and then carried to the bladder through 2 tubes called ureters. When you urinate, the muscles in the bladder contract, and urine is forced out of the bladder through a tube called the urethra.
What is Sarcoma?
Sarcoma is a rare but deadly form of cancer affecting connective tissues such as fat, muscle, blood vessels, nerve, bone, deep skin, and cartilage.
July is also UV Safety Awareness Month. Ultra- violet (UV) radiation are invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the sun. Overexposure to the sun’s UV rays can cause damage to the skin and cause different types of skin cancer.
This project is shepherded by Elaine Knight, PhD, President of JNA, and the Community Service & Development Committee, co-chaired by Delores McKoy, Moye Stephenson-Fairweather and Jennifer Wilson.