Only Voo and myself from our group attended the Forum which was packed with more than 200 attendees. The main speaker was Dr Azlina from Pantai Medical Hospital in KL. She is a very charismatic speaker and shared with us her personal experiences with her cancer patients. One point that struck me was what she said about society not being supportive of the disease. This could be the "Denial" of the occurence of the disease and hence not encouraging the person to seek early medical screening or the lack of understanding of what the "surviver " has suffered and their need to live as normally as possible with or without breast reconstruction(plastic surgery).
Many times the patient came too late and succumb to the disease. She highlighted a case where her patient who was a clerk to a heart specialist in a hospital suffered a breast lump for 5 years before coming to see her. Some people have this FEAR of Cancer and live in denial by not seeking medical help.
A summary of what we learnt:-
1. Woman at high risk for breast cancer need an annual Mammogram screenig. You are at HIGH RISK if you
- have a family history of Cancer
- taking Homone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
2. Breast Self Examination can save your breast and life. Many lumps are found by woman themselves ( Take note that most lumps(80%) , are not cancerous!! You need to confirm with a screening test).
3. Do your Self Breast Examination once a month after your menstruation in the following way
- Look. Stand in front of the mirror and view your breast from different angles to check for any dimples or any abnormalities.
- Feel. Make sure you cover all the areas of the breast tissues including the underarm up to the collar bone.
4. Women from 18 years and above should practise a monthly examination.
5. Men also suffer from Breast cancer and the treatment is the same for both sexes. Recenty in Oct 2010 10 men were diagnosed in West Malaysia.
6. There are many many factors that contribute to Cancer and currently there are no preventive methods other than promoting a healthy lifestyle. So eary detection remains the most powerful weapon in our hands.
Happy Self Exam to everybody, and make sure its monthly. Let's encourage everybody.
Watch it ! The Pirates of The Caribbean landed in KK on 29 Aug 2012. See all the smiling faces? They have seen their target ! Captain Hook came with sword and HOOK. Where is Captain Jack Sparrow and Blackbeard, the most feared pirate of all?? Missing Pirates are Loi, Diana, Janet , Amanda, Jeanie and Margaret Sinsua, Fung
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