KPJ Healthcare Berhad is raising awareness on early cervical cancer detection across the nation in conjunction with International Women’s Day celebrated today, and encouraging women to be aware of the illness and its dangers.
KPJ Healthcare Officer in Charge, Norhaizam Mohammad said the Group has been advocating early detection and healthy living initiatives for the public to reduce the number of cancer patients in the future by partnering with corporations to offer their female staff cervical cancer screening perks.
Other than that, KPJ has been reinforcing messages to educate the public on the importance of cervical cancer awareness through different channels, including social media, featuring doctors and expertise in the field of health articles, so as to educate the public.
“We hope that all women out there will look into the initiatives that KPJ is doing, to care for yourself in terms of preventing cancer, so at KPJ, we believe that cancer is something that can be cured and prevented.
“That is why we have launched HPV vaccine (human papillomaviruses) at a price of RM1,500 at all KPJ hospitals,” she told Bernama after the International Women’s Day celebration and Cervical Cancer Awareness event, here today.
According to the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is known to be the main cause of cervical cancer.
Norhaizam in a statement by KPJ Healthcare said there are many cases of cervical cancer detected at late stages where chances for recovery is very low. Hence, awareness is as important as taking action where screening can help with early detection and would lead to earlier treatment and offer a higher chance of recovery.
“We women are strong, there is no doubt about that, but in our strength to carry on, we often brush off symptoms and regard them as insignificant.
“We are observing an upward trend in the number of late cancer stages for the past years, and these cancers would show earlier symptoms such as pain, fatigue and discomfort. I implore all women out there to get themselves checked, and come for health screenings at their preferred healthcare provider,” she said in the statement.
During the event, KPJ Healthcare also announced its collaboration with Standard Chartered, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Malaysia and Volvo Ingress Swede Sdn Bhd, whereby all three companies are offered complimentary Pap Smear packages and special rates for HPV Vaccination for their employees as part of the collective effort to support women in the industries.
KPJ in a statement said that HPV vaccines are highly effective in preventing cervical infection and can prevent most cases of cervical cancer if the vaccine is given before women are exposed to the virus.
According to the statement, in the Central Region, KPJ Healthcare hospitals recorded over 225,000 patients attending women’s cancer screenings since 2018, which include mammograms (56,597), breast ultrasounds (73,280), pap smear (16,617), and comprehensive health screenings (79,485).