We have treated over 280 patients with breast cancer in 2019! In all of 2018, we treated 275 patients with breast cancer. This is a testament to the growth of the program.
Haiti has had significant political problems in the last two months, with barricades being placed on the streets several days a week. Our dedicated staff has made sure that we stayed open all but three days in the last two months. While not all the patients can make it in on time for their treatment, we must be there for them if they are able to. Last week, we treated 50 patients despite the problems. We also held an awareness event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month that was attended by nearly 100 women. We always ask them to educate three women in their inner circles as well. So hundreds of women have more knowledge than they did this time last week!
We are here for our patients and want to thank you for being there for us during these difficult times.
We have already treated 120 women with breast cancer in 2019. There have been many days lost to protests in the streets that have made it difficult for staff and patients to come in. Our center has remained open and staff insist on making sure that at least one doctor and one nurse are always there for the patients.
In addition, our operating room is now operational! We have started doing mastectomies in the cancer center. This will greatly lower the cost of a surgery for patients and for the program donors. We still get around 20% of our program costs from patient payments based on a sliding scale, but no patient has ever been refused care for lack of funds. Finally, our chemotherapy costs have decreased by 20-30% in 2019 as a result of buying in more volumen and our main supplier has started manufacturing the chemotherapy themselves.
So we can treat more women for less money! Thanks for your support!
IHI treated 268 women with breast cancer in 2018. We have already treated 150 unique patients in 2019 as well. The program continues to grow by leaps and bounds. We are now offering full OB/GYN services including prenatal care, family planning, and cancer screening. We have received our ultrasound machine to screen and diagnose for breast cancer. Our operating room should be open soon! Stay tuned!
The chemotherapy program in Cap Haitien has opened as well with a generous donation for equipment and furniture from the US Department of Defense. We hope to treat all cancer patients from the North of Haiti in Cap Haitien. In addition, the pathology lab in Cap Haitien is moving quickly, improving quality, and delivering results.
IHI will treat 300 women with breast cancer in 2018. We have completed treated 30 women with cervical cancer using chemotherapy and surgery, a novel approach in places that don't have radiation therapy. We will have screened 5000 women for breast and cervical cancer in 2018.
The awareness program is growing and reaching out to the community in different ways. We continue to have breast cancer survivors spread the message in their churches and schools, and now at the market places and bus stops. In addition, we educated 1500 people in two days in two factories in Port au Prince (see photo). Awareness is key to finding cancers early, which will help more women survive the deadly disease.
In 2019, we will open a new chemotherapy program in Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city. Making treatment more available is the next battle we face. Thanks for being a part of it!
Links:
What We Do
Innovating Health International is a nonprofit that partly services Haitian women that are suffering from breast and cervical cancer. The majority of women in Haiti don’t have access or the resources to proper health care, which is detrimental to the society as a whole. This means that a lot of their illnesses go unreported or they get diagnosed when it is too late at an advanced stage.
Over the years, we have been able to provide cancer treatment for free and/or at a much lower price. We want to continue this initiative and help Haitian women in the most need. Your generous contributions through our GlobalGiving have made this possible for so many women and we thank you immensely.
Your Impact
Since starting our campaign “Help Breast Cancer Patients Receive Chemotherapy” with GlobalGiving, we were able to accept and treat so many more new -breast cancer patients. On a daily basis, we give chemotherapy to 14-16 breast cancer patients everyday, from Monday to Friday. Since joining in June of 2018, we were able to continue to provide treatment and care for 94 breast cancer patients in total. That is amazing work and growth considering the small amount of time but we could not have done it without your generous contribution. These numbers are the immediate result of your donations and we thank you for that.
Patient Story
Claire-Molie is a 49 year old mother of 3 who is also one of our breast cancer patients. She used to be an esthetician but could not continue to work due to her illness. After experiencing symptoms of breast cancer and being part of a traumatic car accident, she decided to take her health seriously and get a consultation. She exhausted all of her funds in doctor’s consultations, exams, tests, etc and could not afford chemotherapy or surgery once she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was able to have a mastectomy and receive chemotherapy free of charge through our Breast Cancer Program that is supported through generous donors like you. In Haiti, Claire-Molie is an exception and not the norm. She recently finished her treatment and has been an active member of our support group. The majority of Haitian women with breast cancer are not able to get treatment. Your participation in our GlobalGiving Campaign has help Claire-Molie and so many more patients. She is just one example of the multitude of breast cancer patients that are receiving treatment because of you!
Innovating Health International is continuing to work everyday for our patients to be able to receive treatment within their means. Your support over the past couple of months has given the push to continue and serve our breast cancer patients to the best of our ability. You are directly impacting their lives for the better and we are extremely grateful.
Links:
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
We'll only email you new reports and updates about this project.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
Make a monthly donation & get 
