Hispaniola Cancer Removal Project

In the year 2020 alone, there were over 1,460 deaths from breast cancer in the Dominican Republic, which totaled up to 2.14% of total deaths relating to diseases for that year (World Health Rankings). The Dominican Republic has the 14th highest breast cancer death rate in the world and breast cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer related deaths there (World Health Rankings). Women in the Dominican Republic are not able to afford proper treatment as 23.9% of all individuals in the Dominican Republic are impoverished (World Bank). Further, Dr. Mangiameli is part of an excursion group that aims to treat those impacted the most in the Dominican Republic. In an interview, he gave rise to the issue of there being, what he called “an absence of a medical system”, and pictured how normal preventative, identification, and treatment methods seen in higher income countries like the US, including mammogram screenings, mastectomies, and radiation therapy are virtually nonexistent in the Dominican Republic. The mentioned mission group is formed by Long Island International Cancer Relief (LIICR) and the Island Impact Group that perform mastectomies that remove cancer in these women. In Partnership with the Global Health Impact and Center for Civic Engagement, our group’s goal was to fundraise a total of $600, which will contribute to the nonprofit 501C3 fund these organizations would use on their mission trip. These funds will finance travel expenses, medical supplies, and other unpredicted expenditures associated with the mission trip. Through a raffle ticket fundraiser and a charity trivia night at a local restaurant in Binghamton, our group was able to raise a total of $832, exceeding our expectations by over $200. Through our collaborative efforts, we hope to inform people of the extent of harm Dominican women are in and also aid in the process of removing their cancer.