Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

CVM's Michael Pryce - File

Spanish Town, St Catherine:

Is cancer a death sentence? Not so, according to TV personality Michael Pryce, a cancer survivor who is stressing the importance of getting checked out once you notice symptoms.

Pryce relived his experience during the launch of the Scotiabank Cancer Screening Programme for Rural Women at the bank's Spanish Town, St Catherine, branch last week.

The CVM news hound told those present that he found out he had cancer after getting massive swellings on his legs checked out.

"I woke up to find both of my legs swollen. I did not take any chance. I went to my doctor at Medical Associates Hospital and I was sent to do a biopsy which was followed by several other tests," Pryce said.

The journey to recovery

Pryce said he was subsequently sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in England, where he was born, and that's where the journey to recovery began.

"Can you imagine taking 72 tablets per day, your head bald and you are weak?" he asked. "It takes all that to be here with you today."

The cancer screening programme comes out of a collaboration between Scotiabank and the Jamaica Cancer Society. Junior James, branch manager for Spanish Town, told The Gleaner that $2.5 million would be spent to screen 1,300 rural women up to October.