‘Rural involvement vital’
TUI Macuata Ratu Wiliame Katonivere has called for the Pinktober cancer awareness drive to be taken to rural communities.
He said while it was a great initiative, it had to be decentralised to be truly effective.
“I am glad that we have started this Pinktober initiative and it has been ongoing for the past many years,” he said.
“However, I believe rural communities should be as heavily involved as those in the central areas.
“Effective awareness programs should be done to ensure that our rural women and men seriously consider attending medical clinics every now and then.”
Ratu Wiliame, who launched the Fiji Cancer Society’s Northern Pinktober program last weekend in Seaqaqa, said the awareness programs should include pictures and testimonies of cancer survivors.
“I believe this is important because people need to see the impact of cancer and understand that it’s real.
“When one woman suffers from cancer, her whole family is affected and the ones who really feel the pain are the children.
“So if we are to effectively prevent and control cancer, let’s impact communities with powerful messages and awareness.”
The Tui Macuata said effective messages would lead people to hospitals to get checked up.
“We need to take this approach seriously especially for our rural communities because they are far from hospitals, so whenever they get a chance they should visit hospitals.
“The health team should also visit rural areas and villages to do cancer tests on our women and not only during Pinktober.
“I believe traditional leaders also play a role in working with stakeholders to ensure that messages of preventing cancer trickles down to individuals.”
Ratu Wiliame also thanked commercial companies for their support over the years.
“It’s encouraging to see commercial companies donate money to help those suffering from cancer.”