Ambassador Johnson Hails Diaspora Group on Breast Cancer Fight

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Anthony Johnson, has lauded the Washington, D.C-based Women At Real Risk (WARR), for its outstanding contribution to the fight against breast cancer in Jamaica and for its annual health mission to the island.
“I wish to laud the efforts that WARR has placed on informing women at risk, providing effective screening options and empowering women with the necessary tools and information,” he stated at the organisation’s 10th annual breast cancer awareness fund-raising gala held on October 17 at the Washington Court Hotel.
Ambassador Johnson informed that among the achievements of the group over the decade are: a teen programme at the Marymount High School in St. Mary, which teaches girls to conduct breast self-examinations; providing financial assistance for medical services; and the staging of a breast cancer and Women of the Diaspora seminar.
He also commended the work of the “medical professionals and helpers representing WARR, who, each year, at their own cost, travel to Jamaica with specialised equipment and millions of dollars of medication, to help people, who are in need”.
“We continue to celebrate such selfless love of country. There can be no doubt that people like these believe in Jamaica,” he said, while saluting WARR founder Totlin Taylor-Newby and co-founder Claudia Hudson.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Anthony Johnson, is happy to be in the company of the Women At Real Risk (WARR) medical team at the organisation’s 10th annual breast cancer awareness fund-raising gala held on October 17 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. President and co-founder of WARR, Claudia Hudson (left); and Executive Director and founder, Totlin Taylor-Newby (3rd left), also share the moment.

Noting that breast cancer is no longer confined to an age group or hereditary factors, as “it touches all of us,” he urged WARR “to continue collaboration with health-care providers in Jamaica and worldwide to provide safe and affordable early detection, as we work to successfully turn the corner on this high incidence disease.”
In her remarks, Mrs. Taylor-Newby, who is a breast cancer survivor, informed that WARR was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1998, by a group of Jamaican cancer survivors residing in the American capital. Its objective is to reduce the incidence of breast cancer through education and advocacy.
Mrs. Taylor-Newby said that over the past 10 years, WARR has facilitated breast cancer education for more than 4,000 adults and teens in St. Mary and has funded mammograms, surgeries and prescriptions for some 2,000 women.
She explained that WARR has fostered awareness of the danger of breast cancer to women at risk through hands-on outreach programmes and by liaising with women in the Diaspora, and in Jamaica.
“The mission of WARR is to ensure, through individual support, empowerment and information, that no one faces breast cancer alone or uninformed,” she stated.