Wescot-Williams urges women to prioritize screening as Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins

GREAT BAY-- Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams used the opening of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Parliament today to urge women across St. Maarten to take screening and early detection seriously, while recognizing the individuals and organizations that have worked for years to keep breast cancer awareness at the forefront of the community.

Wescot-Williams noted the serious impact of breast cancer across the Caribbean. Regional data show that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women and the leading cause of cancer death among women in the Caribbean and wider Americas. She said this reality makes continued education, screening and early detection essential.

“It is a fact that breast cancer in the Caribbean is the leading cause of death amongst women, so today as we start the observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I want to give a big shout out to the persons and organizations on St. Martin that through all the years have been driving home the message to our women, young, old and in between,” Wescot-Williams said.

She stressed that early detection can make a major difference in outcomes and encouraged women who have not yet been screened to do so. She also called on women who have already been screened to encourage others in their families, workplaces and social circles to follow their example.

“I want to encourage our women to get tested. We don’t have to lose this amount of sisters, mothers and cousins, friends to breast cancer, and if you have been screened, encourage others to do the same, starting in your own circle, and let your voices be heard,” she said.

Wescot-Williams also offered words of encouragement to women currently undergoing treatment and to families who have lost loved ones to the disease.

“To those fighting breast cancer today, I say keep up the fight, and to those we have lost, to the families of those persons, spread the word that breast cancer can be cured if detected early. It is not a death sentence,” she said.

Her message comes at the start of a month that places renewed focus on awareness, screening, early diagnosis and access to treatment. Health authorities continue to stress that early detection and timely treatment remain central to improving survival rates and reducing breast cancer deaths.

Wescot-Williams said the message should extend well beyond October, particularly in a small community where nearly everyone knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer. She encouraged women to make screening part of their regular health care and to use their own experiences to encourage others to act early.

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