On Sunday, October 30, one of Jamaica’s leading pharmaceutical companies concluded what was called “a month-long schedule of structured events” after participating in the annual Pink Run in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Facey Commodity Company Limited, a member of the Seprod Group of Companies is one of the contributors to the fund-raising event hosted by Jamaica Reach to Recovery (JR2R), the breast cancer support arm of the Jamaica Cancer Society.
However, Facey Commodity Limited’s support for breast cancer awareness went far beyond the Pink Run this year. The pharmaceutical division, which distributes oncology drugs, held various activities aimed at educating and impacting its employees, stakeholders, and customers about the debilitating illness.
The organization’s events led by the health and wellness committee kicked things off by beautifying the walls, halls, and offices with pink decor.
Some of the slated activities throughout the month included: refreshing smoothies for the women, the Pink Hall of Fame, weekly Pink Fridays, a parade of shades of pink, interdepartmental competitions, mammogram and ultrasound examinations, presentations from breast cancer survivors, and weekly quizzes from various breast health presentations conducted by medical experts.
Joyce Miller, the general manager of the pharmaceutical division said the company with Roche and Pfizer as its main suppliers of oncology drugs has always had a passion for promoting breast health.
“The oncology business is very important to our business, and because of that during the month of October, we try to promote the awareness to internal and external persons,” she said.
She further added that this year’s activities are a reflection of the company’s commitment to bringing awareness, as the activities held allowed workers to express what breast health and breast cancer mean to them after losing a co-worker three years ago.
“We have always recognized the month and we always have in our way dressed up in pink every Friday. But this year it went to another level where we really got all staff engaged for the cause and in different ways to depict what breast cancer means to them,” she shared.
While Miller envisioned the success of the events, Tameka Linton one of the brand managers and a health and wellness team member said when she initially heard of the proposed activities, she did not anticipate that her co-workers would be so engaged.
“The way how it played out, that’s not how I visualized it and I think that’s because of the culture before,” she said, expressing that it was far more impactful in comparison to previous breast cancer awareness activities.
“I think they (the activities) have impacted all the employees in a positive way. It has boosted staff morale and has created a balance as we were able to have fun together while getting the work done,” she added.
Linton shared that her favorite activity was the ‘Tell your story’ competition. She said this activity allowed her department to portray breast cancer warriors in a fight club as each department was told to share an impactful and compelling breast cancer story based on the theme for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Similarly, Toni-ann Wilson, a purchasing officer and another member of the health and wellness team expressed how impactful the activity was, and how, while having fun, her department was able to demonstrate that breast cancer is not a death sentence based on the experiences of survivors.
“We got the chance to show, based on the experiences of others that with the right mindset, treatment, early detection as well as that family and friend support you can overcome anything,” she said confidently.
Wilson added that the month-long activities have helped educate the staff as some may know someone diagnosed with the disease.
She also mentioned that, in addition to the scheduled activities, encouraging female employees to get mammograms and breast ultrasounds is one of the many ways the managers have demonstrated that they care about the employees’ well-being. She believes initiatives similar to that of Facey Pharmaceutical should be seen in other organizations to promote breast health.
In a similar vein, Annica Anderson, the human resource manager, expressed that the activities not only showed that the managers care about their staff’s health, but also helped workers understand what some of their customers face when providing their services.
“We are an organization that sells oncology drugs so when our customers come in, we understand more about what they’re going through and it makes us more aware and better able to deal with them,” Anderson said.
In participating in the ‘Tell your Story’ competition, Anderson’s department focused on “It’s greener on the other side” encouraging breast cancer patients that brighter days are ahead despite their struggles.
She further expressed that she was personally impacted by the events and has become more aware of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
Like Wilson, she believes other entities, with strong management commitment, should make similar impactful and meaningful contributions to breast cancer education.
“The management has to be on board, and they have to understand the importance of it (the initiative) and see how it can benefit their staff and customers, all their stakeholders, and the company itself. You don’t have to do a month-long extravaganza to make an impact, but you can use whatever you have and use it to the best of your abilities to get it done,” Anderson encouraged.
