Turn awareness into action, Malaysians urged

HAVE as many oncologists as you want.

But it’s still not as important as Malaysians stepping up cancer prevention and detecting the disease early, says National Cancer Society Malaysia president Dr Saunthari Somasundaram.

A big part of combating cancer is preventing it but many people who are well generally do not care until they see the urgency, she says.

“How do you empower people at the point when they don’t realise they have the power?

“Without behaviour change, you can have as many oncologists as necessary but you won’t get the best outcome.

“We need to improve health literacy and encourage people to take preventive steps and ensure early detection to increase chances of survival,” she says in a recent interview.

However, health literacy, or the knowledge to make appropriate health decisions, is low among Malaysians.

Only 6.6% of adults aged 18 and above have an adequate level of health literacy, based on the Health Ministry’s National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015.

In separate study, it was found that 70.5% of respondents did not practise breast self-examination despite knowing about the disease.

The same percentage also said they did not know how to conduct the self-check, according to the study carried out by Universiti Putra Malaysia researchers in 2012.

And as it is, many Malaysians only get themselves checked in late stages of the disease.

“Breast cancer is the number

Without behaviour change, you can have as many oncologists but you won’t getg the best outcome.

Dr Saunthari Somasundaram

one type of cancer in Malaysia but 42% of patients only come in at stage three and four.

“Of the 42%, 18% are in stage four, which means that the cancer has spread beyond the breast,” Dr Saunthari reveals.

For colorectal cancer or bowel cancer, about 60% of Malaysian patients are diagnosed at stage three and four.

“For Malaysians with low health literacy, they may not understand that the chances of being cured is smaller when the cancer is detected in advanced stages,” she says.

Dr Saunthari also raises concerns about patients dropping out of treatment due to reasons such as financial difficulties, medical services being too far away, or lack of understanding of the treatment.

“Some may go for surgery to remove the growth but they don’t want to go for chemotherapy because they believe that removing the tumour is enough.

“Others are also burdened by work or family responsibilities and skip treatment,” she says.

In order to reduce dropout rates, Dr Saunthari suggests that hospitals come up with a “navigation system” for all types of cancers whereby patients are able to move from one type of treatment to another smoothly.

“Nurses should explain and advise patients about the treatment process as doctors may not have the time.

“We also need allied staff like nurses and community social welfare officers to help patients who have to look after children,” she says.

She adds that there was a pilot project testing such a system in the Klang hospital in Selangor, and she hopes such an effort will be taken up by all hospitals nationwide.

Concurring that the lack of oncologists is a challenge here, the National Cancer Council Malaysia (Makna) urges people to “always look after yourself ”.

“Fear is something many have and they avoid check ups because they’re afraid of the big C.

“But cancer is not a death sentence. What many still don’t know is that it is treatable if detected early enough,” Makna says in a statement.

The council calls on the public to visit exhibitions and talks or call the Makna Cancer Helpline at 1-800-62-5-62 if they need more information in battling the disease.

“Don’t be afraid to ask because you’re the master of your own body and health,” it adds.