Cyclists partake in charity tour to support cervical screening programme

KUCHING: This year’s edition of ‘Sepeda Amal Borneo’ will see 20 cyclists ride over 800km from Miri to Kuching from July 28 to Aug 3.

Organised by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), this year’s charity cycling event aims to raise RM500,000 in support of the ‘Removing Obstacles to Cervical Screening (ROSE) programme, said a statement yesterday.

Funds raised through online donations will be used for awareness and cervical screening programmes conducted under the ROSE programme in Kapit, Miri, Bintulu, Kuching and Puncak Borneo.

Screening already begun earlier in March this year among underprivileged communities in Kapit while more screenings are being planned in the months leading up to the cycling event.

Cervical cancer is the third most common female cancer in Malaysia, with its highest incidences recorded in Sarawak.

“We are very grateful and honoured to be given an opportunity again to collaborate with MMA and Sepeda Amal Borneo this year to raise awareness about the ROSE programme HPV screenings in Sarawak,” said ROSE Foundation founding trustee Prof Dr Woo Yin Ling.

She added that the continuation of the partnership provided a greater reach for women communities across Sarawak with the unified aim of accelerating cervical cancer elimination across Malaysia.

“The elimination journey requires an all-society approach across all sectors. MMA’s belief and support to the ROSE programme is a much-needed reinforcement of joining hands together to make Sarawak and indeed Malaysia a cervical cancer free society in the near future,” she said.

However, she stressed that the most important step is for women to be screened early.

“Together with ROSE Foundation, we are focusing our efforts in Sarawak this time as it is the state with the highest incidences of cervical cancer at 9.6 cases per 100,000 women according to the Malaysian National Cancer Registry Report. These rates are concerning, hence more effort is needed to increase awareness and HPV screening in the state.

“We hope the public as well as corporate organisations will show their support for the Sepeda Amal Borneo 2024 initiative as we firmly believe that together we can eliminate cervical cancer in the state and in the country,” she added.

According to the ROSE Foundation, 1,067 women were screened in 33 locations in Sarawak during last year’s Sepeda Amal Borneo event which took place in June and July.

From the 1,067 women who were screened, 80 women tested positive for HPV, equaling to 7.5 per cent of the group.

Of the women who tested positive, 70 women have either completed or scheduled their follow-up at a local government hospital, equaling to 88 per cent of the subset.

To date, the ROSE programme have screened over 27,000 women all around Malaysia.

Of this total, approximately 1,500 women were tested HPV positive and 88 per cent of them were successfully linked to care via the ROSE programme.