HEALTH AWARENESS OPEN DAY AT QE1

CAMPAIGN.....Queen Elizabeth Hospital Specialist Clinic in Kota Kinabalu the venue for the Open Day and Health Awareness Campaign.

By : FIZAH YUSOF

"I AM really tired, I can’t talk to you anymore, and I just want to sleep." Those were words of a woman with terminal cervical cancer that woke Datuk Agnes Shim, the Chairperson of the Women’s Bureau of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah to the need for health awareness among the public.

“From that close encounter with a dying person  I told myself we should encourage the public to go for regular health checkups. I believe that there is a constant need for health awareness campaigns to familiarize the public with health matters,” she said.

Her strong conviction led her to involve the Women’s Bureau of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah in the formation of a health awareness program in  collaboration with Queen Elizabeth I Hospital. Together they will organize an open day on the 3rd November 2012 as part of this year's health awareness campaign for the public. This is the fourth time in as many years this women organization and QE are carrying out the campaign.

The event is primarily aimed at  promoting awareness, particularly of the common diseases, including the various types of cancer that afflict society.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that more than 17 million Malaysians (60.7 per cent) are currently living with non-communicable diseases (NCD). Statistics shows that 4 out of 5 deaths are related to NCD with cancer being the third commonest cause of death.

Dr. Heric Corray, Director of Queen Elizabeth I Hospital said the most common cancers in Sabah are Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), breast cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer and cervical cancer.

"Early diagnoses and treatment will actually pro-long and cure the patients," he said.

Dr. Heric said the hospital's open day is one way to bring about awareness and educate the public on these common diseases as well as promote the facilities and services provided by the government hospitals. There will be more than100 specialist doctors at the open day to attend to the public.

During the one day campaign there will be  health exhibits in various booths, such as Quit Smoking booth, Endoscopy Unit, Prostate Screening, Colorectal Cancer booth, Neprology (kidney) and many other specialized units.

"We will also provide various health checks and screening tests on a complimentary basis to the public to allow them to assess their general health and also to remove any pre-conceived notions that such tests are invasive and troublesome. In fact, these tests are rather quick and simple," he said.

The public will also get free health checkups on the open day which include blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate checks, BMI, blood sugar, Hepatitis C screening, warts screening, dental/ oral cancer screening, prostate screening, breast checkup and many other checkups. Comprehensive blood tests including cancer markers are also available at a ‘one day only’ promotional rate. (Insight Sabah)