KUCHING: The Society for Cancer Advocacy and Awareness Kuching (Scan) recently celebrated its 2nd anniversary with the launch of a guidebook for cancer patients at the Sarawak Club.
The book, entitled ‘So You Have Cancer – What Now?’, was written by members of the society, who are cancer patients, survivors and caregivers, based on their personal journey and experience in their battle with the disease.
The society, established two years ago in July 2017 by a group of cancer survivors, aims to spread awareness about the disease and advocate for better cancer healthcare in Sarawak.
Despite being a relatively young organisation with a small number of members, Scan has managed to achieve many milestones in the past two years on both cancer advocacy and awareness initiatives.
In Sept 2017, Scan launched a series of ‘Survivors Sharing Videos’ to inspire new cancer patients.
The society has conducted 14 cancer awareness events, reaching out to 2,800 people through numerous awareness talks and events for the local community, including government agencies, private organisation and educational institutes.
This includes the ‘Walk With Me for Cancer Awareness’ event in Oct 2018, which garnered responses from 1,500 participants.
Scan had also conducted an online Cancer Awareness Survey in 2018. The findings were compiled to inform aspects of cancer awareness and healthcare improvements required by the state government.
The society’s efforts have been internationally recognised as it has been sponsored to be the full member of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) from 2019 to 2020.
UICC has awarded Scan with a Leadership Development Grant as part of the mentoring programme for young organisations.
The society would also be setting up free peer-to-peer counselling session in local public hospitals to provide emotional support to cancer patients. It also plans to translate the Patient Guidebook into Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin to benefit a broader audience in Sarawak.
For more information on Scan, email them at general@scan.org.my, visit www.scan.org.my or Facebook at fb.com/scankch.
