KEPALA BATAS: The Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development, through the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN), is targeting 58,500 women to benefit from the Women’s Reproductive Cancer Awareness Programme (WCaRe), this year.
LPPKN chairman Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim (pix) said the ministry takes the issue of women’s health very seriously, especially breast cancer, which is among the main causes of death.
She said, therefore, the government’s initiative in introducing the programme can help in early detection and treatment in order to save lives.
“Under the WCaRe campaign, women can do cancer screening through mammograms, which is provided for free (for those who are eligible), while cervical cancer screenings through the HPV DNA test can be done at the 49 Nur Sejahtera clinics nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak.
“From January to Sept 30 this year, the programme has recorded 489, 389 mammograms carried out nationwide,” she said during the 2023 LPPKN Penang state-level Pink October: Awareness of Breast Cancer Month at its Family Centre here today.
Rohani said that based on the 2012-2016 National Cancer Report there is an increase from 43.2 to 47.9 per cent in the percentage of stage 3 and 4 cancer cases detected.
She said the trend is worrying as there is a possibility of more women being detected for cancer later and the numbers may keep rising without an early screening initiative in place.
“I believe that the WCaRe programme can result in more women being aware and alert of the importance of taking care of their health, particularly related to breast care.
“In addition, the government has also announced an allocation of RM6 million and RM5.5 million in the 2024 Budget tabled on Oct 13, for breast screening (mammograms) and cervical cancer screening (HPV DNA test), respectively.
“This clearly shows that the government cares about the health of women and we are very grateful for it,” she added. -Bernama
