With an aim to raise awareness of the importance of early detection and cancer treatment during this COVID-19 pandemic, one hospital has embarked on an aptly named campaign “Cancer Won’t Wait”.
To date, the hospital offers Free Cancer Specialist Consultation under its CSR programme for patients who wish to seek a second opinion for cancer treatment. That hospital is Beacon Hospital. Beacon’s CSR programme has already channeled more than RM35 million in financial aid to help ease the burden faced by many patients who face financial challenges. The team of experts would like to encourage people with new symptoms not to wait and delay getting their diagnostic tests done. In the unprecedented times of the Pandemic, each individual is facing uncertainty and stress. Presence of cancer during these times compounds concern and puts fears into patients as many of them want to stay away from hospitals due to COVID 19.
“We are currently facing stressful and challenging times with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Yet it is crucial to know that the long intervals between cancer detections, diagnosis and treatment, could result in disease progression or treatment complications,” says Dato’ Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Bin Dato’ Hj. Abdul Wahid, Consultant Clinical Oncologist & Medical Director of Beacon Hospital. “It is vitally important that you don’t delay cancer treatments and our experienced team of multidisciplinary specialists are here to support you,” he added.
There are patients who have been delaying their cancer treatments as they are concerned about being in the high-risk category of communities with potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus If patients have new symptoms during the pandemic, such as a lump, or a change in your body that has not gone away, patients are advised to not put off seeing their doctors.
Cancer is a complex disease that can begin practically at any organ or tissue of the body when unusual cells develop uncontrollably, go beyond their typical limits to attack adjoining parts of the body and/ or potentially spread to different organs.
According to WHO, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths, or one in six deaths, in 2018. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and thyroid cancer are the most common among women.
Most symptoms are usually due to something less serious than cancer, but if it is cancer, the earlier it is detected, the better the chances of recovery. Cancer screening can help protect your health through early detection, even if you do not have any symptoms of the disease. Simple screening tests look for particular changes and early signs of cancer before it has fully developed or before any symptoms emerge.
Beacon Hospital is a medium-sized cancer specialist hospital equipped with 100 beds and more than 80 medical specialists. Its primary focus is to provide advanced medical equipment, specialist doctors and professional nursing care to their patients with love and empathy.
As part of its mission and values of giving back to the community, the management team of Beacon Hospital initiated the Beacon’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with the aim to reach out to needy patients. Generally, the objectives of Beacon CSR programme are:
- Create public awareness on cancer and other diseases
- Emphasize the importance of early detection and encourage patients to seek necessary treatments earlier
- Reach out to the patients who need financial aid for treatment
To date, this programme has already channeled more than RM35 million in financial aid to help ease the burden faced by many underprivileged patients.
