When 72-year-old Marquita Jordan first discovered a lump in her right breast over three decades ago, she never imagined it would mark the beginning of a journey defined by faith, endurance, and healing.

“I had a mass in the right breast,” she recalls to Barbados TODAY about her discovery. “I went to the doctor. She said it’s nothing to worry about. But months later, I still wasn’t satisfied.”

Unsettled by the lump, Jordan sought a second opinion. “I went to another doctor and she sent me for a test — a mammogram. I did the mammogram, and when the results came back, it showed cancer.”

The diagnosis changed everything. “She referred me to the hospital for radiotherapy,” Jordan says. “She suggested that I would have to get surgery because of the size of the mass.”

The news was devastating for Jordan, who saw it as a death sentence. “I panicked,” she admits. “Nobody ever told me that you could suffer cancer and live.”

At the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Radiotherapy Department, she met two nurses who helped ease her fears. “Nurse Blackette spoke to me positively,” she said. “She says: ‘It’s not a death sentence. You could be sitting in your house, and a car could come and drive and kill you.’ That stuck in my mind.”

Encouraged by her praying mother and at her uncle’s invitation, Jordan travelled to New York to get a second opinion. “My uncle, a preacher at Grace Baptist Church in the Bronx, said: ‘Come on down.’ He and my cousin’s mother helped me get into a hospital in Manhattan.”

There, she had her first surgery in October 1992. “When they went in, they said they didn’t see anything, so I was feeling really glad. But then they did another biopsy and said they found something,” she says.

Jordan returned to Barbados later that year for radiotherapy and chemotherapy. “The radiotherapy used to be tiring because of the heat,” she says. “But what I used to do was go to radiotherapy every morning, buy a cold drink after, and then go to work.”

She recalls a conversation with another woman who was going through the same situation; when she explained that she would be heading to work after treatment, the woman was shocked. “She would reach out to me, which she did and she couldn’t understand you’re doing radiotherapy and going to work. What kind of person are you?”

She credits her family for providing the support she needed: “I had some friends who were very supportive, very, very supportive, so it helped a lot. I had a sister who died two years ago… she used to take care of my daughter, and Deborah used to take care of my daughter as well.”

Through it all, she leaned on her faith, her family, and books that shaped her healing. “I came across a book by Deepak Chopra — somebody I followed throughout my whole cancer journey. I also read Getting Well Again. The principles in those books helped me to heal and be strong.”

She incorporated meditation, yoga, acupuncture, reflexology, and dietary changes. “I did a whole course of Chinese medicine,” she says. “I believe that a combination of all of those helped me to get over cancer. The books would tell me that once you believe, you can’t let go of that belief — it would help you to heal.”

Music also plays a vital role in her recovery. “If anybody tell you that music is a healer, it really is,” she says with a smile. “I came out of a musical family. My dad was a great musician. I used to play gospel tapes loud in the district and sing. The music helped me along.”

Thirteen years later, she faced another test — colon cancer. “I had the breast cancer in 1992 and the colon cancer came around 2004,” she says. “I told the surgeon, ‘I ain’t taking no chemotherapy this time.’ It was too debilitating. But I’m still here — still living.”

Her faith remains her anchor. “I used to suffer anxiety and depression sometimes, but you just have to believe,” she says. “Faith goes a long, long, long way. In both instances, it’s my belief and my faith.”

Now a grandmother, Jordan says her story is meant to give hope. “I wanted to tell the story ever since,” she says. “I feel that telling the story will make a difference to someone. It’s not a death sentence, but you have to believe, hold on, and live one day at a time. Don’t try to live tomorrow today — it doesn’t work. That’s my philosophy.”

Now, 32 years later, Jordan says she doesn’t feel her age and believes age is just a number — a true testament to the power of the mind in the healing process.

louriannegraham@barbadostoday.bb

The post How faith carried Marquita Jordan beyond cancer appeared first on Barbados Today.

Financial hardship and housing scarcity are fuelling a surge in mental health struggles among Barbadians, prompting calls for stronger social support rather than more psychiatrists.

Expressing grave concern about the rate at which Barbadians are struggling with depression and anxiety triggered by such challenges, Consultant Psychiatrist attached to the Psychiatric Hospital Dr Joy Sue told Barbados TODAY that these are among the top mental health conditions she is required to treat.

She said:  “The most common conditions that I see are persons who have depression and anxiety, or both. And then, on the other extreme, we get a lot of persons who have what we formally call dementia or major neurocognitive disorder. We get a lot of elderly people with dementia as well. Those are probably three of the more common conditions that I see in the clinic setting.

“We also have a lot of people who come, who don’t have a formal diagnosis; they are just struggling with a particular problem . . . . Maybe they are just grieving because they have lost a loved one; and, since we now have a psychologist, a lot of persons now see the psychologist for follow-up. So, the psychologists are seeing quite a number of people as well.”

Dr Sue explained that a lot of those who see the specialist are not on medication, but are receiving counselling support for their problems: “We are seeing an increase in people coming who are struggling. A lot of it is related to financial problems.

“So, even if you have persons coming forward and they are saying that they are having a relationship problem, it may not be a simple relationship problem; [but] the problem with the relationship might be complicated by the fact that the person doesn’t have financial freedom. So, then they feel tied to a relationship that is not working out.”

Sue, a prominent voice in the country’s mental healthcare community focusing on reducing stigma, also stressed that a lack of housing options is prominent among complaints by patients.

“A lot of persons don’t have good housing. They don’t have housing options; and [so] they are forced to remain in a situation that is not good… for their mental health because they don’t have anywhere else to go.”

She cited an example where many referrals she gives to her social worker for assistance are for housing needs, noting that at times the Welfare Department would help people with housing, such as paying a portion of the rent.

“But that is becoming increasingly difficult too,” she added, “because it’s hard to find landlords who are willing to accept part of the rent from welfare, because they fear the rent wouldn’t be paid on time; and then, a tenant who probably has to rely on… welfare would not look like a reliable tenant to someone.

“People find it even harder now to find places… because welfare doesn’t have a list of places. You have to find a landlord that is willing to accept the rent from them. And then the onus is on you. So, it’s very difficult for people.”

The challenges faced by people are compounded when children are involved:  “I am seeing a lot of people who have children, some very young, coming forward. And it is even more complicated when you have children involved in a situation like that. So, you are in a situation where a partner may be abusive — and I don’t necessarily mean physically abusive — a lot of partners can be psychologically or verbally abusive. So, it’s not a healthy situation for your kids, but you might not have options as to where to go.”

She noted that most of these clients do not have means either because they are unemployed or working in low-paying jobs which ill-afford any flexibility as to what they can do: “They can’t necessarily rent a place on their own. They don’t have the family support that used to be there; or the family members are not in a position to help them either.”

The psychiatrist also stressed that even though some clients experienced improved mental health, there remain major difficulties in rooting out the underlying problems for many people seeking counselling.

She said: “Some of them have been [helped]; but you must appreciate that these situations can be difficult; and it depends on the social support that is available in the community. And honestly, there is not much out there right now. So, it can be difficult to navigate these kinds of situations. You want to be able to help more, but you don’t have the options available to offer people.”

She continued: “If a person comes to me and they are depressed, I can give them medication and they can improve their mood, and that can improve their ability to deal with certain things and cope with certain things, but it may not change the underlying situation. You still need options out there to change the underlying situation that causes the depression. A lot of people don’t have those options.”

While she could point to at least one former client who reported success in turning her life around by ridding herself of her stressors, the mental health expert said this may be the exception, not the rule.

Many of her clients have been taking advantage of the government’s Special Needs Grant, a programme administered by the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS), that provides financial support to individuals with specific disabilities, she noted.

Sue said: “That has been helpful for a lot of people; that was one option that wasn’t available before. So, several of my clients who have autism, I have written letters for them to get that sorted, and that has been helping some families. As you can appreciate, there are some persons, due to their mental health conditions, who can’t work at all.”

She also dismissed any notion that Barbados needs more psychiatrists to help deal with the growing incidence of mental health problems, suggesting that a strong and structured social support system may be crumbling.

“I have always said mental health in Barbados is kind of top-heavy. We have more psychiatrists in this small country per population than most other countries. Most of our Caribbean neighbours… They have very few psychiatrists, but they do better than us, because of how their programmes are set up. So, not everybody who has a mental health concern is coming to see a psychiatrist.”

She explained that in other countries, general practitioners would deal with more common mental health conditions such as depression with psychiatrists being reserved for more serious cases like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

In Barbados, however, “we kind of run a top-heavy service where there is not the best use of personnel”, said Dr Sue.

“How things are set up now is not the best use of personnel. There are certain reasons for that I understand. But, no, I don’t think adding more psychiatrists will necessarily solve the issue, especially since the issues are social. I think we need more social support.”

She gave as an example the fact that when she started working at the Psychiatric Hospital, there were two halfway houses which no longer exist.

“Certain things went backward,” she said. “We had houses at one point in the community that were assigned for our patients; when they go into hospital and they come out, they could live in these houses. But bit by bit, because of how society is, relatives or whoever, eventually kicked the persons out of the houses. The houses were no longer there. All kinds of things happened… so, we had certain social things and we have gone and we have taken steps backward. We don’t have those social supports anymore. We don’t have group homes… because that was a kind of group home… halfway houses we don’t have those things anymore.”

She expressed concern that now, when patients who are ready to be discharged from the hospital, have nowhere to go because relatives don’t want them and there is nobody else to take them in.

Even where these people may have had a home, it may be dilapidated, she said.

“There is no easy solution to that,” Dr Sue declared.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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“The bill must be withdrawn in its present form. It must be brought afresh in the new session of Parliament”

View the full post The least of these — Matthew 25:40 on NOW Grenada.

Santo Domingo.- The Puntacana Group, the Ministry of Health, and the National Blood Center have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen voluntary blood donation in the Dominican Republic through ongoing collaboration and community outreach.

As part of the agreement, regular blood drives will be organized across the Puntacana Group, its subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, alongside awareness campaigns highlighting the importance of consistent and voluntary donations. The initiative also aims to improve donation facilities to ensure a positive experience for donors.

Registered voluntary donors under the National Blood Center program will have access to blood components for immediate family members, while Puntacana employees may activate this benefit in emergencies by providing a substitute donor. Initially valid for three years, the agreement addresses a key health need in the eastern region—home to over 1.3 million residents—where access to formal blood banks remains limited. The initiative underscores the role of corporate social responsibility in fostering solidarity, saving lives, and promoting collective well-being.

Concerns about health and safety in Barbados’ schools should be managed internally through proactive committees before escalating to the Ministry of Education or unions, Deputy Chief Education Officer Julia Beckles said on Monday.

Addressing more than 130 educators at an awareness-building session for health and safety committee chairpersons at the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, Beckles, the ministry’s senior official responsible for schools, suggested that many issues could—and should—be resolved at the school level through proactive, well-functioning health and safety committees.

Her comments come against the backdrop of last school year’s disruptions, when teachers at several schools walked off the job over environmental and safety concerns, prompting ministry intervention and temporary closures in some cases.

“Some are active, but we would like all of them to be active, and we would like them to be more active than they are,” she said. “We are hoping that we will be able to foster that culture of collaboration on safety, which will see matters of safety being dealt with at the level of the school before they have to be reported to the union or even to us, because in some cases there are matters that can be fixed once management and the health and safety committees work together to bring resolution.”

Beckles explained that, while all schools have established health and safety committees as required by law, not all are functioning at full capacity. “We can tell you that all schools have health and safety committees, and we are hoping that after today and some other interventions that we are going to put in place, that all of them, we will have 100 per cent excited and forging ahead, ensuring that we have that culture of collaboration as it relates to safety and disaster risk reduction.”

Citing an example raised during the session about rodents and droppings sightings, Beckles said these too could be managed at the school level through education and preventative action.

“Schools are in residential areas, and we know that sometimes the practices—we can’t control the practices of everyone—but certainly in terms of education, health and safety committees can speak to their members at schools to ensure that they are doing the right things as it relates to disposing of rubbish,” she said.

“Principals can have campaigns at schools to ensure that children are disposing of rubbish properly because obviously we have to starve the rodents out. If they feel that they can be fed, they’re going to come to those environments.”

Beckles added that when environmental challenges arise, “the principal can then, along with the health and safety committee, determine whether it is a situation where there is a breach and what measures can be put in place. They can collaborate on this, baiting can be done, and that would involve calling in the Ministry of the Environment and health personnel”.

The deputy chief education officer said the ministry recognised the need to do more to support school health and safety teams, especially as Barbados continues its ongoing education transformation efforts.

“We deemed it necessary that more be done to assist our schools’ health and safety teams, and certainly to ensure that our schools’ health and safety teams are up, running and being proactive,” Beckles said. “Part of the pillars on which this transformation rests is the objective of having school environments that are fit for purpose. We want to modernise our school environments, and part of that modernisation should always have a focus on health and safety.”

She told the participants that schools needed to be fit for purpose, especially as the ministry was rolling out its education reform programme.

As Barbados joins the rest of the region in observing Caribbean Safety Week this week, Beckles said the ministry viewed the timing as ideal to renew focus on creating a “culture of health and safety in schools.”

“We want you to go back and re-energise and mobilise your teams—not in any acrimonious way, not because you are there just looking for when something goes wrong. We want you to be there all the time,” she said.

Encouraging reflection, Beckles asked participants to consider: “When was the last time your health and safety team held a meeting that had nothing to do with any problem seen within the environment? When was the last time your health and safety team did a walk-through of your school’s environment?”

The post Schools can address health, safety issues internally first. Here’s how, says official appeared first on Barbados Today.

Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with national and international organizations, is advancing efforts to designate Las Américas International Airport (AILA–Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez) as an official health point of entry, in accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR-2005). This designation will ensure that the airport has the necessary protocols, equipment, and trained personnel to respond effectively to public health emergencies, including disease outbreaks and other health risks to travelers and residents.

During a week of joint evaluation, representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), and Aerodom assessed AILA’s operational readiness and advanced the creation of an action plan to achieve official recognition.

The evaluation highlighted significant progress in communication and technical coordination, though it also identified areas for improvement in environmental management, operating procedures, and resource allocation. The Health Point of Entry initiative aims to enhance global disease prevention and control through well-prepared ports and airports. Following AILA’s upcoming certification, similar processes are planned for Punta Cana International Airport and Cibao International Airport, complementing the steps already taken in 2024 to strengthen the Port of Haina as a maritime health entry point.

Up to week 39, the Ministry of Public Health’s epidemiological surveillance system recorded 123 maternal deaths.

However, health authorities indicate that maternal and infant mortality indicators show a general downward trend in 2025. 123 deaths have been recorded, compared to 135 in 2024.

According to official figures, this is a 9% decrease.

However, this overall decline contrasts with the increases observed in provinces such as Santiago, which has 22 cases; La Altagracia, which has 14 deaths; and Distrito Nacional, which has seven, highlighting persistent challenges in the coverage and timeliness of obstetric care in areas with high demand for services.

Maternal mortality is an indicator that reflects the quality of care provided to women; however, it is related to other social determinants. Some specialists argue that women die due to poverty, a dehumanized system, and the lack of effective primary care.

Most mothers who die during or after childbirth have been reported in the public health system, which calls into question the quality of service provided by health personnel and the support network.

Infant mortality

As of week 39, according to the Epidemiology Department, 1,331 maternal deaths have been reported. Authorities estimate that infant mortality in the country has decreased by 22%, from 1,700 to 1,331, according to the report.

This was observed in El Seibo, Monseñor Noel, and Monte Plata. However, increases were observed in provinces such as Independencia, Bahoruco, and Sánchez Ramírez, highlighting the challenges still present in areas with lower installed capacity.

Neonatal

Neonatal mortality is a key indicator of perinatal care and decreased by 16%, from 1,378 to 1,145 deaths. Progress has been seen in Monseñor Noel (-63%), Duarte (-43%), San Cristóbal (-39%), Puerto Plata (-38%), and La Altagracia (-35%).

However, increases were observed in San José de Ocoa (150%), Independencia (100%), Bahoruco (71%), and Hato Mayor (64%), although the figures were small.

This indicator requires greater effort, since in the infant mortality category, the highest number of deaths is recorded in the neonatal group.

The story

Maintaining surveillance of indicators, such as maternal and infant mortality, has been a challenge for nearly 30 years. Maternal mortality is monitored by hospital committees and reported to the Department of Epidemiology.

Greater integration of specialized professionals in public centers is required.

Cancer patients and advocates are once again facing anguish and uncertainty as the launch of a new radiotherapy machine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has been postponed until the end of November, deepening concerns about life-saving care amid official silence.

Men’s Cancer Support Group Interim Coordinator Vincent Yearwood told Barbados TODAY the repeated postponements in commissioning a $10-million linear accelerator continue to cause hardship for patients in urgent need of treatment.

“I understand the hospital had said it would have been ready by mid-September,” Yearwood explained. “From the information that has reached us, it now seems they’re saying October, but they haven’t come and said anything to the public at all. So one still doesn’t know what the status of the machine is.

“As we speak, at least one of our members is in Trinidad currently receiving radiation treatment. So, in other words, the disappointment continues, and the QEH hasn’t said a word.”

The linear accelerator, which is used to deliver high-precision radiation therapy to cancer patients, was delivered to Barbados last year. But despite several assurances from health officials, it has yet to be installed and brought into use.

On Thursday, QEH spokesman Shane Sealy acknowledged that the machine’s full installation had been delayed once again owing to construction adjustments that had to be made.

“We’re hoping to have it up and running by the end of November,” Sealy told Barbados TODAY. “Everything in this project has to be precise. What held things up was that, following the civil works, we learned that the floor was out by two millimetres. That had to be corrected because the equipment can only work with exact measurements.”

Those adjustments have now been completed and installation of the accelerator is expected to take place between this month and next, according to Sealy.

“The corrections have been made, and the new accelerator is going to be installed shortly, now that the civil works have been completed. We’re looking to the end of November for it to go live,” he said.

Back in June, Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw expressed frustration in Parliament that the life-saving equipment was still not operational, warning that lives were being lost as a result of the delay.

“We have people dying while waiting. This can’t continue,” Bradshaw declared during debate on a resolution to lease state land at Coverley for a new palliative care facility. “It cannot be that the equipment is sitting there and not being used while people are desperate for treatment. There has to be a sense of urgency.”

Bradshaw, a breast cancer survivor herself, described the matter as one of national importance and urged health authorities to accelerate the process of commissioning the machine.

“We have started the process,” she said. “We know where we want to go. Now we need to act. Lives are on the line.”

In response to Bradshaw’s concerns at the time, health minister Davidson Ishmael sought to assure MPs that the installation of the linear accelerator machine was finally nearing completion.

The minister told lawmakers he was “disheartened” by the fact that the ministry had not yet delivered on the commitment, but due to civil works delays, the project had faced some unfortunate challenges.

He insisted: “Any entity that has any radiation involved, there has to be a special purpose-built facility and space for its housing. Therefore, some of these civil works have taken inordinately long, but the team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is working assiduously to ensure that we can get to the point where the civil works are completed.”

The minister said he had been informed that those civil works were due to be finished that week.

Back in January, the Barbados Cancer Society sounded the alarm on the increasing incidence of colon cancer in the country, attributing it largely to Barbadians’ diet.

The society’s president, Professor David Rosin, said: “Here in Barbados, the commonest cancer is still — despite it being half the population [men] — prostate cancer. There are, in fact, 320 new cases every year out of a population of 285 000 people. That is about 45 per cent of all cancers [reported locally]. It’s really something to worry about. The anxiety here is not only is it the commonest cancer, but it is also unfortunately more aggressive and occurring in younger men.”

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb

The post QEH cancer machine faces fresh setback appeared first on Barbados Today.

The United Kingdom’s Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s official export credit agency, has raised its financing capacity for Guyana from £2.1 billion to £3 billion, a move that President Irfaan Ali on Monday said would see his government tapping into for major infrastructural projects. “This reflects the UK’s confidence in Guyana’s economic trajectory and fiscal ...

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