The Bermuda TB Cancer and Health's long-awaited move to a new facility is a couple of weeks away from becoming a reality.

The organisation's building on Cedar Avenue - their home for about 50 years - has been sold and staff are in the process of moving one of the Island's oldest charities to a purpose built facility of close to 13,000 square feet on Point Finger Road.

In this, the Bermuda TB Cancer and Health's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the timing is perfect as work on the new building is meeting its projected autumn 2003 opening.

"I'm pleased to say we're on schedule to open our doors on November 3," said Bermuda TB Cancer and Health Association president Judy Simons this week. She said opening the new facility during the month of Breast Cancer Awareness would have been too hectic for the association.

"What they are doing now is laying the carpet down and getting the furniture. The old building will be officially closed on October 27 and as far as moving from the old building to the new there will be a contact (phone) line in place for people who need medical assistance."

The various events of Breast Cancer Awareness enables TB Cancer and Health to not only raise the awareness but also raise funds to offset the cost of the new building, which came with a construction cost in the region of $4.9 million.

"The capital campaign has gone really well, the projected goal over five years was to raise $4.5 million, but we're well over $3 million to date," said Mrs. Simons. She acknowledged that Bermuda TB Cancer and Health had long outgrown its current facility, as the need for more facilities increased.

The association currently provides services to more than 17,000 residents a year and works with other organisations such as the Bermuda Diabetes Association and breast cancer support groups. Last year, on average, there were between 600 and 700 mammograms carried out every month, an increase of about 38 per cent from the previous year.

"Besides providing a mammography department we will be adding an ultra sound department and cancer resource library," explained Mrs. Simons.

"That library will have all the latest technology as far as computers and literature for the public to come and research for their loved ones or themselves if they have been diagnosed with potential cancer, so that we can help work with doctors, the hospital and PALS facility.

"The corporate and public community have been very supportive of our project and we can't thank them enough for their ongoing support. We bought the property in 1999 and the concept of the actual campaign started around July 2000. We had our first commitment to the campaign about a year to the date, July 2001."

Added Mrs. Simons: "As far as the capital campaign project itself is concerned we have just over another year to go when we hope to have raised all the money for the building itself.

"Between the construction company, architects and everyone else we have worked really well together. We had a separate building committee to handle the day to day construction of the building and I'm very pleased with how the whole campaign has gone."

There is no comparison between the old and new facilities, the latter being about three times the size.

"Where we've been for all these years has served us well but like anything else we're going with the changing times," said Mrs. Simons.

"With our ongoing very strong educational portfolio it has made TB and Cancer very high profile in education. That's one of the reason we're opening a library, to enhance our education and research facility."

Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities continue next week with the charity 3k and 5k walk. Two visiting specialists, Dr. Craig Bunnell and Dr. Ursula Matulonis from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, will speak at a forum at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute next Wednesday (7 p.m.). The following night they will appear on a televised programme entitled `Taking Charge' on ZBM at 8 p.m.

The fun walk was originally scheduled for October 1 but had to be rescheduled because of the impact of Hurricane Fabian on people's lives. Judy Panchaud-White, chairperson of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, explained that the committee has a target to raise $150,000 from the various activities, which also included a `denim day' and women's road race last weekend.

"I believe we had about 150 companies competing in that (denim day) but again it is too early to know what funds were raised from that particular event," said Mrs. Panchaud-White.

"With breast cancer the message we constantly try to get out is that this is a disease that is 90 per cent curable if it can be diagnosed early. We continue to emphasis that women, when they turn the magical age of 40, need to have mammograms."

During Monday's fun walk, participants have been collecting pledges and some of their companies have matched those pledges. Last year some 500 people participated and the organisers are hoping for a similar turnout.

"This particular year I'm not sure how much of our participation is going to be affected by Hurricane Fabian in September," said Mrs. Panchaud-White.

"If the numbers are around the 500-odd then we'll know that it has not had an effect and that people have been able to focus on the month's activities. Two years ago when we had the September 11 disasters in New York participation in the month of October was down from the previous year.

"That is probably not unusual, it was such a devastating act and people weren't necessarily focusing on what was happening locally. So we're a little concerned whether or not Hurricane Fabian may have had a similar effect leading into this month. Hence why we decided to postpone the walk and give people time to refocus again.

"We were planning on kicking off the month with that, but we just thought the two weeks or so leading up to October 1 would not have been conducive. People's thoughts were still focused on getting their houses repaired, getting their yards cleaned up and whether or not they had power."

Added Mrs. Panchaud-White: "We never considered cancelling, it is too important a month for that, not just for fundraising but as health awareness issues.

"For the walk coming up on the 20th I've had a lot more enquiries in regards to entering teams, teams walking on behalf of breast cancer survivors or those undergoing breast cancer treatment.

"I'm anticipating we'll have more team participation than we've had in the past which is great."