Grupo Desafio

Founded more than eight years ago by a group of people who have fought their own battle with cancer, Grupo Desafio started life as a support network for women with breast cancer. Its mission is now to spread the word about the importance of early cancer detection and help all those living with the disease, regardless of sex, age or type of cancer.

Completely secular and apolitical, Grupo Desafio was legally constituted as a charitable civil association in 2000. Since 2004, it has been the Quintana Roo state representative of the AMLCC (Asociación Mexicana de la Lucha Contra el Cáncer), the National Cancer Association.

Grupo Desafio’s goal is to help lower the death rate from cancer in the state of Quintana Roo, coordinating its work with the local authorities and private organizations.

The group’s objectives are to promote the culture of prevention and to help combat the physical, psychological and social distress caused by cancer. Members of the group are involved in the following activities:

- Self-help and group therapy sessions with patients and their families.
- Promoting cancer awareness and prevention by breaking down taboos and spreading the message that the disease is curable if caught in time.
- The group organizes seminars on cancer, risk factors and the importance of early detection aimed at women, men and young people.
- Visits to cancer patients
- Organizing fund-raising conferences and activities.

In 2005, the group launched its Crusade against Breast Cancer, a campaign organized twice a year to coincide with Mother’s Day in May and World Cancer Day in October. Members distribute information and talk to women about the need for regular examinations. As a result of these contacts, and thanks to the support received from the Elizabeth Norman Sutton Trust, the group is able to cover the cost of cancer studies for women who would not be able to afford them otherwise. Since the campaign began, Grupo Desafio has been able to pay for 4,100 mammograms and 150 ultrasounds at the General Hospital.

In order to achieve its goals of helping more and more people every year, Grupo Desafio de Quintana Roo A.C. is constantly seeking donations from members of the public, businesses and other institutions. It can supply a tax deductible receipt for donations received.

Three years ago, Monica Noguera, a well-known Mexican TV personality, joined the crusade against cancer, adding her face and fame to further Grupo Desafio de Quintana Roo’s cause. As the group’s ambassador, she urges women to go for their preventive studies and to be aware that timely detection may mean the difference between life and death. Women who have been diagnosed with cancer are encouraged to face up to it and undergo treatment. They are given the message that they are not alone; there is a support group to help them. More recently, Oscar Cadena, a TV producer based in Cancún, agreed to play a similar role as the face of the Prostate Cancer Prevention campaign. He is an active campaigner for community, social and health causes and Grupo Desafio expects him to make a positive contribution.