REFLECTION 2- PINK OCTOBER: WE CARE!

For the second reflection entry, I’m going to write about my personal experience which is closely related to SDG number 3, good health and well-being.

I joined the program under Kuliyyah of Nursing, “Pink October: We Care!”. The program starts from 29 October to 30 October. There are a lot of activities they provide within the two days. But for the first day, there was only talk by the expert and a forum with breast cancer survivors. It was so amazing to hear their survival story. And on the second day, there are fun runs, canting batik, and many more.

This event’s main purpose is to create awareness among students about breast cancer. This is because the majority who suffer from this illness consist of young women at about age 20s. So, there are a lot of precautions and early diagnoses to notice early before it gets worse. This program related to SDG 3 aims to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment. Vaccination and screening for cancers in women, notably breast and cervical cancer, as well as colorectal cancer, are examples of how we can work towards achieving this goal.

I feel very proud of the spirit of breast cancer survivors because they stay strong until they are free from this disease without feeling wanting to give up. Even to some people cannot be cured anymore they keep attending their chemotherapy and continuously take medicine and treatment that suggest to them.

Obviously, this program opened my eyes that we should take early precautions. Don’t think that just because we are young, we can’t have this disease. Because this disease doesn’t know your age! The talk also emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis of these cancers to promote regular screening for women, and vaccination again human papillomavirus (HPV) for our daughters in the future.

Furthermore, due to early detection and treatment, mortality rates have decreased for several cancers, notably breast cancer. For these, the focus is increasingly turning towards survivorship and rehabilitation. In addition, I now know more than ever before about how to reduce the risk of cancer. Some of the ways are avoiding taking tobacco and alcohol, being physically active, screening for breast, bowel, and cervical cancer once a year at least, and taking vaccination against HPV to prevent cervical cancer.

Other than that, on the second day of the program, I joined fun runs in order to commercial a good habit of being physically active. The route they provide is about 5km. It was so far.  

Through this program, I personally realized that there are a lot of people that need our support to live in this community. Regarding that, I think we should raise more awareness over the years because I believe that outside there, there still have people who take this case as trivial things. Other than that, I also realize that I’m so lucky to have this early exposure to this kind of disease. I’m glad I make the decision to join this program.