A healthy lifestyle was the focus of a Red Dress Affair held at Grand old House Wednesday evening.
The combined effort between the Cancer Society and Baptist Health International raised awareness about heart disease in women and the need to take action against its risk factors.
The event also garnered more than $800, which will be used to fund education programmes in the community and assist cancer patients with financial aid.
The well-attended cocktail event staged free blood pressure and sugar checks, body mass count, proper nutrition, a fashion show, and a silent auction.
Attendees including the Governor, Mr. Bruce Dinwiddy, and wife Emma Dinwiddy, also heard presentations on proper nutrition and health care from Baptist visiting representatives Dr. Luis Mendez and nutritionist Sabrina Hernandez.
‘We are trying to make people aware of several things such as obesity, which is linked to heart disease, which is a very big thing in women,’ said Cancer Society Educational Officer Christine Sanders. ‘Heart disease is one of the major causes of death even more so than cancer.’
‘What we are basically trying to do this evening is identify all of the risk factors so that people can do something about it,’ said Cancer Society Director Dr. Sook Yin.
‘Most the time when people are diagnosed with certain types of disease they already have the disease,’ she said.
‘Our mission in the Cancer Society is to prevent that through education. Having the red dress affair is a prime example of how we can combine education with a little bit of screening so they can know where they are with their health at this point. It is really about taking stock.’
‘People need to be more responsible for their own health. It is a partnership between the doctor and the patient but doctors cannot do every thing for a patient.
‘We can prescribe drugs and advise the patient to take responsibility. But until we change things about certain risk factors that cause these diseases the community will get sicker and sicker.’
Dr. Yin said the Cancer Society is not only about cancer but hopes to raise awareness about diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, obesity, blood pressure, hypertension, osteoporosis and chronic diseases.
Doctor Yin said if a person who is healthy is diagnosed with cancer there is a better chance of fighting the disease if the body is healthy.
‘That is where the Cancer Society comes in,’ she added. ‘We want to lay the foundation that we need to keep healthy by eating healthy and taking care of the body.’
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