| Standing L to R: Meredith Campbell, Ranjit Kaur, Siew Mei Quin, Prof Jeff Dunn, Dr Lydia Abdul Latiff
Kneeling L to R: Dr Ritu Joseph, Rene’e Aziz Ahmad and Wong Mee Yee |
“It Changed My Life!”, Kuala Lumpur – 10-12 August 2007
By Dr Evelyn Ho “It changed my life....” seemed to ring true for the gutsy women who shared their adventures with the delegates of the International Conference on Survivorship and Supportive Care in Cancer. The conference was held in Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur from 10-12 August 2007.
Meredith Campbell, co-founder of the Amazon Heart project after treatment with breast cancer now organises biking events (yes – with sponsored Harley Davidsons on loan) to raise awareness, raise funds and to give women recovering, diagnosed and even undergoing treatment with breast cancer their adventure of a lifetime. What keeps her going? She keeps hearing how such challenging events changed other women’s lives!
Dr Ritu Biyani Joseph, a dental surgeon with her Project Highway in India was another one of those unbelievable feats of a journey beyond cancer. Her solo drive (accompanied by her teenage daughter) trekking through rough terrain, mountainous regions using oxygen or crossing planks over a body of water was never thought possible. Her tale was so riveting the audience had to stop themselves from getting up to clap for her courageous feats that have raised cancer awareness and also brought dental health education to communities in her country.
No less captivating was Rene’e Aziz Ahmad conquering Mount Kilimanjaro after recovering from her treatment with breast cancer. Rene’e a civil engineer, did not let breast cancer take charge of her life. Instead she challenged cancer. Together with the PRIDE Foundation the Climb Mount Aconcagua project took off. The adventure was filmed an aired in a 2-part documentary over satellite pay TV, ASTRO.
Wong Mee Yee is captain of the Pink Challengers, a team of people with breast cancer who compete in Dragon Boat Paddling contests! Mee Yee is a volunteer with the Breast Cancer Welfare Association. Dragon boat paddling is an excellent exercise to ward off swelling of the arm after surgery to remove lymphnodes – a condition called lymphedema. Mee Yee relates how age, stage of treatment or even living with cancer is no deterrent to participating in this sport. The most “senior” member of her team is 71 years young!
Siew Mei Quin spoke about regaining self esteem and confidence after cancer in the younger women. Greater emotional distress is faced by the younger woman with breast cancer because of the impact on a young family, younger children and their career.
The above was just one session in the Conference that was held over 3 days covering many topics related to support and survivorship in cancer. Benefit Finding after Cancer proved to be one of the most positive of all the sessions, as it showed how after or those living cancer, there was still fun, adventure and opportunities to make a difference in one’s and other people’s lives. The presentations of the women rung loud and clear to every single one of the 347 delegates at the Conference (5% of the delegates were men). The positive psychosocial impact of benefit finding after cancer was related to challenge, advocacy and peer support.
Cancer may give rise to temporary or permanent impairment such as limb amputation, paralysis, chronic pain and a variety of other conditions. As medical treatment improves for cancer, more and more people are living beyond 5 years after a diagnosis of cancer and even more living after cancer has spread. As cancer becomes a chronic disease, more quality of life issues surface and must be addressed. Therefore, this international conference was timely and the organisers should be congratulated on having produced such a comprehensive programme that involved both international and local speakers, moderators and facilitators. The topics covered were Treatment Options, Palliative Care, Supportive Care Services in Cancer, Benefit Finding after Cancer, Enforcing Clinical Practice Guidelines in Cancer Services, Prevention and Access to Care, Quality of Life issues, roundtable discussions/workshops and Hi-Tea with Puan Rohani, Acting Director-General of the National Population and Family Development Board, representative for YB Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.
The theme of the conference was Enabling Survival: Promoting Early Intervention and Care and was organised by the Breast Cancer Welfare Association. This programme was made accessible to many, thanks to the support (inclusive of grants) from the Malaysian Oncological Society, Wear It Pink - Ribbon of Life, Susan G Komen For the Cure, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and The Cancer Council Australia.
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