Wear It Pink Walk

Launching the Wear It Pink Walk
(Rene'e Ahmad, 2nd from left, was the honourable guest for this event.)

Participants doing a warming-up exercise before the walk began.


Participants walking along Jalan Pantai Baharu.
Looming behind them is the Telekom Malaysia's Headquarter.

Again we are up early today for another Breast Cancer awareness walk. This time it's the Wear It Pink Walk organized by Pantai Medical Centre. It was held at Tenaga Nasional Berhad's (TNB) Kilat Club, just across the medical centre. The walk was not well publicises. We got to know about it only on Thurs. The crowd that turned up majority were from the Pantai Nursing School (over 200 of them). It's a waste to put efforts to organize an event but yet didn't do enough on its publicity to get more participants. More so when it's an effort to create awareness on breast cancer, one of the major cancer for women in Malaysia.

We had the pleasure to meet with Rene'e Ahmad (the lady in pink cap & blue pants in the first photo), a breast cancer survivor. She conquered Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2005 and Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina in 2007 after her recovery. She proved that there is life after breast cancer!!

I have a friend in Singapore who has just went through a mastectomy and now undergoing chemotheraphy. She is feeling very angry and upset over her current condition. I choose to share the victory of Rene'e Ahmad with her, hoping she knows that there is a life after breast cancer. Don't give up, my friend! Calm down and may peace of mind comes to you as you work on your recovery! My prayers are always with you.

STATISTICS ABOUT BREAST CANCER
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Did you know that breast cancer afflicts an estimated figure of more than ONE MILLION women in the world each year and is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, second to lung cancer? Did you know that of the ONE MILLION afflicted women, almost 45% of those women live in developing countries? Did you know that of the new cases of female breast cancer reported in Malaysia in 2003, 64% of these cases were women between the ages of 40 to 60 years old?Did you know that Chinese women seemed to be at greatest risk, with an incidence of 59.7 per 100,000; followed by Indian women (55.8 per 100,000) and Malay women (33.9 per 100,000)?Did you know that early detection and getting appropriate medical attention can help save lives? So it is unfortunate in Malaysia that nearly 40% of the new cases identified each year were already in the very advanced stages of the disease.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the world, affecting one in 19 women in Malaysia. As with most cancers, the earlier breast cancer is detected and diagnosed, the better the chances of successful treatment.

One of the best ways of ensuring that breast cancer is for you to be breast aware, that is understanding and knowing how your breast look and feel like under normal circumstances, so that you are able to seek early medical advice if there are any changes in either breast.

Find out as much as you can about the subject so you can make an informed choice about your treatment options. Do not be afraid to ask questions from medical practitioners.

Be positive and lead a normal life after breast cancer treatment. Take good care of your mind, body and soul.
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Other postings on Breast Cancer Awareness Walk:

• Breast Cancer Awareness Walk