The Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative Foundation (BBCIF) recently announced the appointments of Melissa D. Major as its executive director and Magan Trottier as its genetic counsellor.

Ms. Major has worked in commercial and private banking for the past 14 years.

Her role as executive director is to report to the Board of Directors and be responsible for the organisation’s consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives.

She is also the founder of Freedom Survivors, a young adult community for persons affected by cancer and she serves on the Education and Operations Committees of the Cancer Society of the
Bahamas.

Ms. Trottier is a trained genetic counsellor. She earned her Master’s degree in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto in Canada and her Bachelor’s degree in Cellular Biology from the University of British Columbia.

She is currently conducting the ongoing genetic testing and genetic counselling in Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).

The current BBCIF research programme involves offering genetic testing and counselling to relatives of individuals who were identified to carry the BRCA gene in the initial 2008 study and to determine the risk of hereditary breast cancer in the Bahamian population.

This programme is underwritten by grants from the Ride for Hope, The Ministry of Health, Sunshine Insurance/ Marathon Bahamas, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and private donations.

The BBCIF is a public-private partnership formed in Nassau in April 2008.

The mission of the Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative Foundation is to facilitate the collaboration of multiple partners to improve breast cancer care in The Bahamas and provide the women of The Bahamas with a comprehensive breast cancer program to include education, early detection and care. The BBCIF is a nonpartisan foundation funded through grants and private donations in both The Bahamas and the U.S.

Partners of the BBCIF include The Bahamas’ Ministry of Health and Public Hospitals Authority, a diverse group of Bahamian Oncologists, Surgeons and Radiologists, The Ride for Hope, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Sunshine Insurance/Marathon Bahamas, the Cancer Society of the Bahamas, Sister Sister Support Group, Freedom Survivors Young Adult Support Group, and The U.S. Embassy.