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This post is a little overdue but better late than never I suppose. This is really for all the women out there, although guys, you could always help spread the word.
On Jan 22, four bloggers got together at Twenty One Kitchen + Bar on Changkat Bukit Bintang for the Power Over Cervical Cancer event, organised by the National Cancer Society of Malaysian (NCSM) supported by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical (GSK).
The four bloggers are myself, my dear friends Joyce Wong aka Kinkybluefairy and Serena C as well as Joe Lee. Yvonne Foong is the fifth blogger who is part of the campaign, but was unable to attend the event.
The whole point of the event was to serve as a wrap-up event of sorts of the POCC campaign which kicked off in July last year with the aim of educating and creating awareness about cervical cancer. A major part of the campaign was the Cervical Cancer Risk Questionnaire that was being distributed via the POCC Pink Mobile. GSK has pledged RM1 donation to NCSM for every questionnaire completed.
However, this isn’t the end of the campaign, in fact far from it. The event was also to announce that the POCC Pink Mobile will be going nationwide to engage a larger population of the public including stops in Ipoh, Penang, Malacca and Johor. Then, there were the five bloggers – or digital ambassadors – who will help to push and promote the questionnaire online.
Before the event began, we sat down with Dr Saunthari Somasundaram who is the Medical Director of NCSM. She briefed us on the society (as we would essentially become ambassadors for them) as well as gave us some background information on cervical cancer specifically, and cancer in general.
I like the shot taken above of me, Joyce and Serena listening intently to Dr Saun because well, when I saw it, I thought: “Poor Dr Saun, got three media people – journalists – barraging her with questions.“
Basically, we all wanted to know more details about the cancer. Here are some basic facts I’d like to share:
- Cervical cancer affects only women (duh!) but most importantly is that it can be prevented!
- It is the second most occurring cancer among women in Malaysia, next to breast cancer. Together, both make up almost half the number of women who are diagnosed with cancer. Worldwide, a woman dies from cervical cancer every two minutes.
- Cervical cancer is caused by the very common, and contagious, virus – the human papillomavirus (HPV). Men can get HPV too but are usually carriers. Is it estimated that 50-80% of women acquire a genital HPV in their lifetime.
- Vaccination for HPV types 16 and 18 is available, and has the potential to prevent up to 70% of cervical cancers.
- One can undergo the pap smear test, which is simple and painless, to detect cancerous changes in the cells of the cervix. If the changes are detected early, it can result in total cure with appropriate treatment.
Towards the end of the event, the four digital ambassadors were announced and introduced one at a time. When my turn came up, the emcee for the day Rina Omar (who is a POCC ambassador) asked me why I agreed to participate in this campaign.
My reply was simple (it was probably long-winded, knowing me, but I’ll just explain it here anyway).
I do not know anyone who has personally been diagnosed with cervical cancer but many people close to me have been affected by other forms of cancer. When I was approached to be part of POCC, I asked questions to find out more about the cause. The fact that this is a preventable disease made my mind up for me because if I can even convince one person to take the vaccination, or undergo the pap smear test, then it would all be worth it.
The event ended, as most events usually do, with a photo session. The one above is of us posing by the banner about cervical cancer. In the picture, from left to right are NCSM amabssador Genevieve Sambhi, GSK’s Choong Kit Son, myself, Dr Saun, Rina, Joe, Joyce and Serena.
Call for action
- If you’re a woman who have been sexually active, make sure to regularly undergo a pap smear test (usually annually but seek the advice of your doctor).
- If you’ve not been infected with HPV, or are not (or have in the past been) sexually active, consider taking the vaccination.
- My biggest call comes to both men and women: take part in the Cervical Cancer Risk Questionnaire which will test how much you know about the disease, educate you more about it and get RM1 donated to the NCSM.
8.18am Malaysian time (8 GMT)
amandalindsayrose
Tags: bloggers, Cervical Cancer Risk Questionnaire, Changkat Bukit Bintang, Choong Kit Son, digital ambassadors, Dr Saunthari Somasundaram, genevieve sambhi, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical, gsk, joe lee, Joyce Wong, kinky blue fairy, klubbkidd, national cancer society of malaysia, ncsm, pink mobile, pocc, power over cervical cancer, rina omar, Serena C, serena choong, Twenty One Kitchen + Bar, yvonne foong
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Hey, thanks for helping out with NCSM. They do need the publicity and the MONEY!
Did Dr Saun tell you that all money is raised inhouse? They don’t depend on commission agents. So all the money donated goes toward treatment, education, housing (for rural folk), and admin.
great post for a great cause!
Great stuff, nice to see people promoting cancer awareness out there. Way to go!
nice work Niki
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by nikicheong: On my blog: Bloggers @joycethefairy @serenac @klubbkidd, Yvonne Foong and myself unite against cervical cancer http://bit.ly/98uwwK #pocc…
I found your blog on google alerts – I am a cervical cancer survivor and my nonprofit organization aims at eradicating this preventable disease.
I wanted to let you know that I admire the courage to stand up to cervical cancer, even though you have not been personally affected by it. You are helping this world eradicate a preventable disease!
Thank you again for all you do!
i did the survey, but it came to “500 Internal server error” after i submitted my answers.
not sure if it just happened or it had been like tat for sometime.
Hi Axiao,
Thanks for doing the survey, and alerting me to the error. I’ve informed the relevant people and hope to get it resolved soon.
Cheers!
it’s working now…:)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Niki Cheong, Niki Cheong, Niki Cheong, Jermyn Toh, Joyce Wong and others. Joyce Wong said: RT @maf73: RT: @nikicheong: My blog: @joycethefairy @serenachoong @klubbkidd, Yvonne Foong & myself against cervical cancer http://bit.ly/98uwwK #pocc [...]
[...] event also introduced the new Digital Ambassadors for 2010: myself, Niki Cheong, Serena C, Joe Lee, and Yvonne Foong. Other ambassadors for Power Over Cervical Cancer: Rina Omar [...]
Hi
There has been recent studies done on whether boys should also be vaccinated against HPV.
This is from the Royal College of Obs & Gyn.
http://www.rcog.org.uk/news/bjog-release-should-boys-be-vaccinated-against-hpv
[...] Niki Cheong :: Bloggers against Cervical Cancer [...]
[...] campaign, alongside my friends Joyce and Serena as well as bloggers KlubbKidd and Yvonne Foong. Read the post where I shared some pictures of the event where I was pinned (pictured [...]
Hey Niki,
Finally I have found someone who shares the passion to create an awareness among woman in Malaysia on this revolutionary discovery that marks a milestone in the history of science and medicine. Progress in medicine has been a gradual and step wise pattern until the discovery of this vaccine which marks an advancement in leaps and bounce.
I am glad that celebrity blogger like you is aware of the importance and significance of this vaccine. Unfortunately, sad to say, not many doctors/medical practitioners share the same enthusiasm. It’s such a tragic to know that 8% of general practitioner who attended a symposium on Cervical Cancer organized by GSK were strongly against the idea of vaccination girl age 10-15 years old.
Worst of all, not many doctor are well versed as they should be. I am really perplexed and astonished at the fact that we are witnessing history in the making, in par with the discovery of Penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming, the eradication of smallpox before the turn of decade in the 70s, the discovery of polio vaccine that saved millions, and now this, yet not many doctors are inquisitive and excited over this!
Personally I feel the next “big thing” in medicine which is in par with the discovery of cervical cancer vaccine would be treatment for AIDS.
I am a strong advocate for this. Not really sure why I put so much effort in creating awareness among the public to the extent where some thought it became almost pathological!
Perhaps it could be my personal encounter with a close aunt of mine whom I attended to during her 9 months duration of battling with pancreatic cancer, seeing how my uncle became psychologically,mentally, and emotionally traumatized. It’s not an easy thing to experience for both the patient and caretakers.
The cost for vaccination is a small price to pay compared to the financial, mental,psychological, and emotional trauma they have to go through upon being diagnosed to have cancer.
The level of awareness among the community is still very low. I don’t blame the society for this, as doctors themselves did not put in effort to create the awareness.
I got to know that a significant percentage of women knows very little about these vaccines, which is the better among the two, and pass judgment without understanding thoroughly the facts on these vaccines.
I would like to congratulate you for being instrumental in creating an awareness in our society on the problem faced by us.
Keep up the good work, Niki!
[...] only connection to NCSM is through their Power Over Cervical Cancer campaign, of which I am one of the Digital Ambassadors. But it is a totally different programme [...]
[...] the NCSM – National Cancer Society of Malaysia. I am one of the Digital Ambassadors for its Power over Cervical Cancer campaign and also helped mobilise the Social Media Initiative for Relay for Life. So you know that the cause [...]
[...] But this post isn’t about my friends. It really is about the campaign. I shared previously on this blog about some basic facts about cervical cancer. You can read them here. [...]