National Cancer Society of Malaysia aims to do more outreach programmes to spread awareness on early cancer screening

The National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) is planning more outreach programmes as many people remain unaware of the risks or the need for early screening.

NCSM managing director Dr M. Murallitharan said the outreach programmes are important as one in three Malaysians will develop cancer before the age of 70.

“Early detection and treatment are key, but many people remain unaware of the risks or the need for early screening,” said Dr Murallitharan.

“The more outreach programmes we can do, the more awareness we can raise and hopefully reduce the number of early deaths from cancer.”

Besides conducting programmes in urban areas, Murallitharan said NCSM uses 40-foot trucks as mobile health clinics in rural areas and multipurpose vehicles if its staff need to go off-road.

He said the mobile health clinics were a perfect way to meet more people, as some were more open to talking to NCSM staff in familiar surroundings.

One of the companies helping NCSM is car company Toyota, which recently donated RM200,000 to the society. The money will be used to buy vehicles for the soon-to-be-completed halfway home in Penang, in northern Malaysia, and another, in the southern state of Johor.

Dr Murallitharan said the vehicles will transport cancer patients from rural areas to treatment centres and halfway homes, providing a critical service for those facing significant challenges accessing care.

“Our halfway homes are free of charge for cancer patients and their families, as they only receive outpatient treatment at hospitals,” said Dr Murallitharan.

“By operating these halfway homes, patients have a place to stay. There have been instances where some of them sleep in their cars.

“The shuttle services are vital in ensuring that patients from remote areas can continue their treatment without the burden of expensive transport. We will ferry them to the hospital, and then to the halfway homes.”

Dr Murallitharan said this was the fourth consecutive year that Toyota has supported NCSM’s outreach and patient support programmes.

The money from the previous year was used in various states that had government hospitals treating cancer patients.

Meanwhile, NCSM is partnering with the Health Ministry to develop a three-year plan to address the rising cancer cases in Johor.

The state has the highest cancer incidence in Malaysia, with 16,434 new cases between 2012 and 2016, with the majority detected at the late stages.

“That is why we need to buy a vehicle for our Johor home,” added Dr Murallitharan.