Colgate-Palmolive Backs Cancer Drive with $5000

Fiji Cancer Society grateful for company’s continued support and partnership

Colgate-Palmolive (Fiji) Limited has been supporting the Fiji Cancer Society through its awareness programmes throughout the year.

To celebrate 11 years of that partnership, the company handed $5000 to the Society yesterday. The cheque handover ceremony was hosted at the Colgate-Palmolive at their office in Wailekutu, Lami, to the society chairman, Makrawa Wilson.

During the handover ceremony, Colgate-Palmolive general manager Fiji and Pacific Islands, Hiten Lal, said: “We have supported the Fiji Cancer Society through the restructure as well in the earlier years and we have continued with that support. We are very proud of the association. “Most of us probably have been through or touched up in our families or communities where someone is going through this dreadful illness.

“There are a lot of support required and we want to be there to support them. Our focus always has been on early detection and we want to continue with that support today by providing another set of donation which hopefully helps the cancer team to utilise and enhance,” he said.

Mr Wilson commended ColgatePalmolive for its support to the society, the survivors, the patients and families, for many years. “Donations have enabled us to continue the work that we do in providing the much needed assistance and the support that the families require financially, spiritually, and in terms of comforting patients as well,” Mr Wilson said. “The journey they go through is something that I don’t think any of us have journeyed or even encounter. To hear their stories is an amazing thing to remember.” As the chairman of the society, Mr Wilson said they could only acknowledge corporate organisations such as Colgate-Palmolive for their continued support. “This has enabled us to reach out to the communities, to our patients, transporting them to and from their homes for their clinics and reviews, supporting them in terms of medication if it’s not available on the free drug list, providing them assistance in regards to their visas where they need to be evacuated as some patients are not able to afford it or neither their passports,” he said.

Mr Wilson also highlighted that five men have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Men have to understand that we have breast tissue as well and we need to be mindful of the fact that we could also have breast cancer,” he said.

“We have testimonies to that regard where people have been diagnosed and are currently undergoing treatment with the hospital, supported by the society. He revealed that a young man in his late 20s to early 30s, was currently undergoing treatment.

“In January last year, he noticed a small lump and swelling and did not take much notice. “However, as of January this year, it was discharging fluids,” Mr Wilson said.

“He approached the hospital and was diagnosed with stage four cancer and is being treated. “Cancer does not discriminate. You can be a little child, a married person or an elderly person. The youngest woman diagnosed this year is a 20-year-old.” He highlighted that breast cancer ranked eighth in the world and rated third largest killer in Fiji – second to cardiac arrest, and diabetes being the first in Fiji and the world.