Cancer awareness sessions for estate staff, by Mithuruwela

Mithuruwela, the Cancer Support Network recently conducted two well-attended Cancer Awareness sessions for the staff of estates belonging to the Finlays’ Group in Ragala in the Nuwara Eliya district.

Staff from Delmar, Gordon, Waldemar, Blair lomond and Alnwick estates attended the first session while employees from Court Lodge, Park and Concordia estates were present at the second. Organisational support for the sessions was received from Maithri Gankanda, Director Operations- Nuwara Eliya for Finlays’ Estates and Sudath Liyanage, Manager, Delmar Estate Ragala and his team of medical/welfare staff.

Medical information at the sessions was provided by Dr SIS Lareef of the National Authority for Tobacco and Alcohol. At the conclusion of the sessions, members of the audience were screened for breast and uterine cancer. This was made possible because of the support of Dr Sampath Jayasekera, Medical Officer of Health (MOH), Ragala and Dr Senaka Talahena, Regional Director of Health Services (RHDS), Kandy.

Mithuruwela has been conducting awareness sessions for staff of the planation industry since 2012 in areas such as Hatton, Ratnapura, Elpitiya, Pussellawa,Pundaloya, Nuwara Eliya,Ingiriya and Rakwana.

Fourteen-year-old Hashini Imasha Rajapaksa of D.C.Mola Idiripita, Ganewaththa, and Nikadaupola is suffering from Thalassemia major and has to undergo a donor matching test to be followed by a bone marrow transplant (BMT). As BMT facilities are not available in the government sector, the treatment must be done at a private facility in India at their own cost - around Rs 7, 000,000.

Her parents R.M.Aruna Krishan Rajapaksa and Tushari Dilhani Jayasundera are appealing for public assistance to save their daughter ‘s life. They can be contacted on 077-6893332 or 0721797409 or donations could be made to their bank account at the Bank of Ceylon –Hiripitiya No: 81061255.