- 7 minutes ago
Nearly five women in Malaysia are diagnosed with Cervical Cancer every day. Families face treatment bills, lost earnings and the demands of Caregiving.
Malaysia had an estimated 1,740 Cervical Cancer cancer diagnoses and 991 deaths in 2020. Yet, Cervical Cancer could become the first cancer eliminated globally as a public health issue through vaccination, screening and timely treatment.
What would investing in prevention mean for women, employers and the healthcare system? And how do we reach women for whom even a free screening appointment means transport costs, childcare and a day’s lost pay?
In conjunction with World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day 2026, Tehmina Kaoosji speaks with Selina Yeop Jr, Dr Khoo Su Pei and Dr Yeoh Chit Cheng on cervical cancer prevention, patient support and access to healthcare for underserved communities.
#NiagaSpotlightWithTehminaKaoosji
Malaysia had an estimated 1,740 Cervical Cancer cancer diagnoses and 991 deaths in 2020. Yet, Cervical Cancer could become the first cancer eliminated globally as a public health issue through vaccination, screening and timely treatment.
What would investing in prevention mean for women, employers and the healthcare system? And how do we reach women for whom even a free screening appointment means transport costs, childcare and a day’s lost pay?
In conjunction with World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day 2026, Tehmina Kaoosji speaks with Selina Yeop Jr, Dr Khoo Su Pei and Dr Yeoh Chit Cheng on cervical cancer prevention, patient support and access to healthcare for underserved communities.
#NiagaSpotlightWithTehminaKaoosji
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NewsTranscript
00:06Hello, I'm Tamina Kowski and this is Niagara Spotlight. Today our spotlight falls on World
00:10Cervical Cancer Elimination Day and investing in prevention. Now cervical cancer ranks sixth
00:16among cancers impacting Malaysian women. Approximately 1,740 women a year or nearly
00:22five Malaysian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each day based on Global Cancer 2020
00:28estimates. Also an estimated 990 women died of cervical cancer in 2020 and earlier research
00:35even put annual management costs at roughly 312 million ringgit. Yet amidst this all, the hopeful
00:42news is that cervical cancer elimination as a public health concern is indeed possible. Marking
00:48World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day which occurs on November 17th annually, Niagara Spotlight today
00:54examines the World Health Organization, the WHO's global push through vaccination, screening and
01:01treatment and how Malaysia can reach underserved women and protect women and families from preventable
01:07loss. Welcoming to the studios for this most timely discussion, Selena Yop Jr, founder Teal Asia as well
01:14as WHO recognized patient advocate together with Dr. Yochit Cheng, consultant medical oncologist at
01:21Curie Oncology, rounded off with Dr. Koo Supe, Program Director with Rose Foundation. A very good morning
01:28to you all. Thank you so much for being here with us. Thank you for having us. Fantastic. So Selena,
01:33perhaps we can get started off with the story behind Teal Asia and what actually led you to establish it
01:39together with how your own experiences of cervical cancer sort of revealed to you some of the stark gaps
01:47efforts for supporting women beyond the medical treatment angle? That's a very long question. So I'm going to
01:54break it down. Break it down. Sure. Right. So I got diagnosed for cervical cancer about four years, four years
02:04ago. Right. And because I was treated in the
02:07government hospital, University Malaya Medical Center. That's right. I was exposed to how a lot of the patients
02:20were really feeling left to their own devices. Right. In fact, I felt that way too. Very much so. Because
02:31I think the wards,
02:34the gynecological ward, isn't it, where we are all being treated, I think it's just overwhelmed.
02:41Yes, certainly. With patients. And I look around and I consider myself very blessed because despite the fact that I
02:51was in a
02:51government hospital, I still had the support of my family. It was COVID, mind you. That's right. So no one
03:00could...
03:00Which added to the stress and the strain. Yes. No one could visit me. So it was even more isolating
03:07at that point of time. So...
03:09But I had family. I had staff who are able to remotely send me, you know, decent food.
03:22Get me medication that are otherwise not provided by government healthcare.
03:30Exactly. So you also began Teal Asia as a peer-to-peer support group.
03:37Yes. That actually happened, not when I was in hospital, but six, I think it's about six months after I
03:48finished my last treatment.
03:50I was asked to speak at the Gates Foundation Global Conference on Cervical Cancer.
03:58Right. And I was exposed to all these healthcare professionals and I learned so much.
04:05And I realized that I was the only one there who was a patient.
04:09Everyone else were clinicians and doctors and researchers.
04:15And then after I spoke, people were running, the doctors and the clinicians were running up to me.
04:21And they actually said, wow, you're really brave to talk about this.
04:27It really brought to life the whole conference because they're hearing it not so much from a clinical perspective, but
04:35from a human perspective, survivor perspective.
04:39So someone then asked me during the Q&A, okay, so now you're equipped with all this knowledge and you
04:47make all these friends in this space.
04:50So what are your plans when you go back to Malaysia?
04:53And then I said, oh, I will start a peer-to-peer support movement.
05:01Okay. So it was sort of like pretty organic then.
05:04It was just like something that just came out of my mouth.
05:06I had no plans at all. They just came out of my mouth.
05:09And now in 2026, so much more has happened.
05:12But thank you so much for the brief overview, Selina.
05:16I'll go into asking Dr. Ku via Program Rose, Rose Foundation's outreach across Malaysia.
05:23Tell us a little more about the women who require the immediate care, diagnosis, et cetera,
05:31but who are also the hardest to reach and what you have found with your work through the foundation so
05:37far.
05:38So Rose Foundation, or better known as Program Rose, we conduct cervical screening programs over Malaysia through our RH activities.
05:46And we deliver HPV DNA tests that is so easy nowadays using a cell swap to all women,
05:52despite this being the, you know, this is currently the first line cervical screening method that is more superior than
05:59PET smear,
06:00and which is why we are using this method to reach women.
06:03And this has removed so much barriers like, you know, in the past, you need to use a speculum examination.
06:08Women feel so fearful of the procedure, it's uncomfortable.
06:12But despite having removed that barrier using this one, the cell swap, women still don't come forward for screening.
06:20So who are the hardest to reach?
06:22Well, they are basically two big groups.
06:25One, there's a practical barrier.
06:27That means those who are rural areas, you know, the health literacy level is slightly lower.
06:33And they don't know they need to get screens.
06:35And also there are another group of women who actually there's misinformation and stigma around it.
06:42They don't come forward to talk about cervical screening, especially when it comes to reproductive health.
06:48Right.
06:48And one common perception I got from the ground is that women feel completely well.
06:56They don't think they need a screening done.
06:58But screening is meant for people who are well.
07:00We want to do early detection before anything happens.
07:04So that is a common mindset I've seen on the ground that women don't feel they need the screening test.
07:10Until, of course, it's a little too late, right?
07:13Which brings me definitely to Dr. Yeo.
07:15Now, by the time a woman comes to see you with already advanced cervical cancer,
07:21what have you observed about the gaps in her journey which led to, in the first place, the late diagnosis
07:28and then also after late diagnosis, late seeking of treatment perhaps?
07:33Thank you for the question.
07:35So I think a lot of women come very late for the sheer fact that it usually occurs and presents
07:41in the age of maybe even 35 to late 40s.
07:45So they are busy.
07:46They are mother of twos.
07:48They've got two jobs.
07:49They are running around looking after elderly parents.
07:51They don't look after themselves.
07:53The last thing they'll think is a little bit of bleeding we need to be looked into.
07:57So I think we need to re-educate the primary carer's GP.
08:01It has to be a solid syllabus in becoming a GP to specialise that you need to A, be able
08:07to examine
08:07with speculum and B, have posters about post-coital pain or post-coital bleeding is not normal.
08:14Right.
08:15Because those are your actual warning signs, your red flags.
08:18Correct.
08:18And a very easy hard hit is to teach the A&E gateways.
08:23They are gatekeepers.
08:24So these people will allow public to come directly.
08:27I also put up posters in supermarkets when I first started with Cancer Unknown Primary.
08:31I want to know.
08:32If they know there is an entrance of medical care where people want to know, they'll walk in.
08:38So you mustn't have the barriers up with pricing or difficulty referring.
08:42It has to be.
08:43We do this for post-penopausal bleed.
08:46They don't need a GP referral.
08:47They walk into a gynae and there's a door.
08:50They don't need to have a letter from a doctor.
08:52They can be referred.
08:53The same can be done with cervical cancer.
08:55Absolutely.
08:56So that would actually remove the fact that we have some data from 2017 to 2021 showing
09:02that almost 50% of diagnosed cases were stage three or stage four of cervical cancer.
09:09So, Selina, that brings me to asking you, through the work that Teal Asia's peer support has been able to
09:15do
09:16and all these conversations, what are women sharing about the multiple burdens that they suddenly have
09:24in addition to their existing roles, as what Dr Yeo rightly mentioned, being mothers, being full-time professional women
09:32and sometimes also having care for elderly members as well as for their own children?
09:39Actually, I will be brutally honest.
09:41Please do.
09:43It is the underserved women who I really, really want to reach out to because I feel, as I said,
09:51when I was in hospital,
09:52I had support to send me food, to buy medicine, to get all these things done.
09:57Your ecosystem.
09:58My ecosystem, right?
10:00And I had my lovely doctor, Prof Wu Yingling, the founder of Program Rose, whom I could cry to.
10:08I said, look, I'm due for a surgery and at six o'clock the nurse is coming with a prescription
10:14to say,
10:16please get your painkillers, you're going for your surgery.
10:20Oh wow, yeah.
10:21I'm in pain and you expect me to pull my, what do you call that thing?
10:25The IV line.
10:25The IV line to the pharmacy.
10:27You know how big the hospital is, right?
10:30So this is what I feel is the gap.
10:33If you don't have that support, how are you going to navigate this?
10:37Yes.
10:37Or perhaps what I can think of is that women from underserved communities may even be hesitant to go into
10:43cancer treatment
10:44after being diagnosed because that is part of the barrier.
10:48They don't have anyone to support them.
10:50And you know, a part of it is not all the medicine are covered by the government.
10:57Secondly, as well, is that a lot of the people in the ward that I was staying with, they are,
11:03they are daily paid workers.
11:08That's right.
11:09So I can hear them talking, you know, like on the phone, like, you know, if they are staying.
11:14Negotiating their work schedule.
11:16Yes.
11:16Yeah.
11:16Like, okay, if they don't go to work, that's 50 ringgit.
11:20Yeah.
11:20One day down.
11:20One day down, you know.
11:22And then another, then another one is like, okay, they have children and they don't have people to take care
11:33of the kids.
11:34So you can ask your neighbour, mind your kids for one or two days.
11:38But like for certain treatments, like if I'm going through, say a brachytherapy, back to back, I need to be
11:44in the hospital for a longer stretch.
11:46And I can't just leave my children with family.
11:51For an indefinite amount of time.
11:53Yes, yes, yes.
11:53So this is the thing that really, really touched my heart.
11:57I'm saying that, oh my goodness, how?
11:59No wonder women are so hesitant to seek treatment because of the time away from family and the time away
12:07from their daily paid.
12:09Daily paid responsibilities too.
12:11So that's why I want to be brutally honest.
12:14Our work would prioritise the really, really underserved communities.
12:19Exactly.
12:20And all the fundraising that happens year round via Teal Asia, it is actually helping to close those critical gaps
12:26for these women in particular.
12:27Yes, yes, yes.
12:28Fantastic.
12:29Thank you so much for the very insightful conversation so far, Selena, Dr. Yeo, as well as Dr. Koo.
12:35We do take a quick break though.
12:37Don't go anywhere.
12:38We'll be right back with the rest of this conversation on cervical cancer elimination.
12:57Welcome back to Niagara Spotlight.
12:59Still with me, Tamina Kausji.
13:01And today the conversation centres around cervical cancer elimination with our panel live in the studios.
13:06Dr. Koo, going back into Rose Foundation's work, tell us a little more about what the logistics and mechanics look
13:15behind actually outreach for reliable screening services for those who are in more rural or underserved areas.
13:23What does it take?
13:23Thank you for the questions.
13:26I think I really echo what Selena said.
13:29People who are, you know, they are not so well to do financially.
13:33They are afraid to seek treatment because they would lose their income every day.
13:37It's actually the same reason why women don't come forward for screening, especially those underserved communities.
13:42And which is why program Rose, before we conduct an outreach screening program, actually there's a lot of pre-events
13:49work that we have to put in.
13:51There's substantial effort in, you know, engaging the local communities or even go and visit.
13:57We do site sensitisation.
13:59We build the trust.
14:00We start conversation with them.
14:02We even have to plan what's the follow up pathway if anyone has any abnormal results.
14:08So we will engage with the local healthcare providers.
14:10So we work together hand in hand with community leaders, healthcare, local healthcare providers,
14:15and make sure there is a pathway for them to go to the hospital for follow up if there's any
14:20abnormal results.
14:21So basically, we have to plan end to end because to conduct a successful outreach screening program, it's not just
14:28about the test kit.
14:30It's the A to Z, the pre-event engagement and the follow up and make sure they really show up
14:35at the hospital
14:35and complete the necessary treatment or follow up care if there's an abnormal screen that happens.
14:42So there's also a time gap between the tests being collected and then the diagnosis and then also the follow
14:49ups that occur over several months, right?
14:51Yeah.
14:51Yeah.
14:52So, but we are very fortunate because of the technology, right?
14:56This swab, right?
14:57We sometimes, we went into the village that takes us eight hours boat ride.
15:01We take the sample, put it in our backpack, come back up eight hours, travel back to Kuala Lumpur
15:06because this swab is stable for up to 28 days at room temperature.
15:10Incredible.
15:11Yeah.
15:11It does not require immediate cold treatment.
15:14No, no coaching, nothing.
15:15And then because Rose, we have our own registry, we are integrated with some mobile technology.
15:22The women received the result directly within three weeks time via WhatsApp.
15:26This is something we learned over the years.
15:28Initially, we started with SMS.
15:29Then we realized even rural areas, they might not have like phone line, but they have internet.
15:35So all the communications happen via WhatsApp.
15:38And that is the expectation we give to the community during the screening stage.
15:44We will tell them, what does it mean if you have an abnormal result?
15:47It doesn't mean cancer.
15:49Please don't run away.
15:50You have to just go to the hospital or clinics, which we will support you throughout the journey.
15:55Make sure you get treated so that you are not at risk of developing cervical cancer.
15:59Exactly.
16:00So, Dr Yeo, that brings me to asking that even in the case where treatment may be subsidized,
16:06women may also face these repeated incurring costs.
16:10Travel, maybe even accommodation, if they are coming from more interior regions to seek for their treatment.
16:16So, in your clinical experience, how do these pressures actually affect women's ability to start,
16:23and more importantly, complete their treatment?
16:25And where should clinical teams step in and also make that assessment quickly
16:31before, in a sense, they lose a patient to the system?
16:35That's right.
16:35It's a very good question.
16:37It's quite complex as well because Malaysia is progressing really quickly.
16:41So, there is already a two-tier medical treatment.
16:45If you are not private, then I think the best way to shorten this is to provide the package on
16:53the day you meet the patient,
16:54already line up the logistic of the treatment and tell her precisely that the treatment will end at a certain
16:59point.
17:00So, she needs to hear when treatment starts and end so she could book her dates of being out of
17:05action.
17:06Remind her that it's absolutely a curative cancer because it's caused by HPV.
17:12Immunogenic cancers, no matter what stage, is very curable.
17:15So, I think if they can see that they'll be out of action for four months but after that they'll
17:20regain their own physical fitness
17:22and they'll be back on track like a normal woman and go on to function as a wife, a mother
17:27and a daughter.
17:29That helps. Financially, I think you need government support.
17:33I mean, this is a year where her income will drop and they are very unfair body of institution who
17:39will actually lay her off.
17:40She will lose her job and I'm surprised this is even sometimes in the public sector jawatan jobs.
17:48So, I think we need to change that mindset in the different policy level.
17:52But for her, she will need groups like Rose Foundation, Teal Asia, we will have a small fund to support
17:59this family.
18:00Fortunately, it's not a big incident cancer. So, we can do this. We are a developed, successful nation.
18:06We can have a fund to help 50 women per year each time to get them through.
18:12Exactly. It's really all about the actionable solutions that can come out from the ecosystem that already exists, right?
18:19Not targeting for the moon in that sense.
18:22So, Selena, now let's talk more on speaking openly without fear of judgment, particularly when it comes to cervical cancer,
18:30HPV.
18:31It can be difficult subjects to discuss at all.
18:36If from your survivor advocacy and the peer support work, what have you learned about women's concerns?
18:44Dr Yeo pointed out one of them recently. What are some other further concerns about how to have the conversation
18:52with those in your circle, including employers, including professional contacts and, of course, family?
18:58Yeah, which is why peer support is so important because I know I've met so many people who have gone
19:09through this and I say, hey, look, you know, you're a great candidate.
19:11Can you do a video for me? Can you speak about it? And they just say, you know, this is
19:16a very private matter.
19:17And, you know, it's already in the past and just let's keep it there. I'm saying, but your experience is
19:26what's going to help the future.
19:28Right. So this is what I've learned. I've learned that the stigma is still pretty bad and it doesn't help
19:35with certain gynecologists and doctors giving interviews and saying it's a sexually transmitted disease.
19:49So that really doesn't help at all. And it's like, you know, it's so contagious, all these things coming from
19:55medical professionals.
19:57Yeah, it doesn't help. It doesn't help the case at all. So this is not only are we battling the
20:03women and their and we've got to dismantle the blame and the shame and all that.
20:07But then we've got to deal with the medical practitioners who are also not really helping by providing, you know,
20:17non-factual information.
20:20Understood. Absolutely. And Dr. Koo, going back into the self sampling and after, of course, the self sampling occurs, it,
20:29of course, brings screening much closer to women in exterior or underserved communities.
20:36But then, of course, a woman with a positive HPV assessment then may need to travel from where she is
20:44to, of course, the treatment or clinic location.
20:46So tell us a little bit more about Rosa's experience and helping to support these women to reach the end
20:52point, which is also the start point of treatment.
20:56Right. Actually, this is a critical component of a screening program because if you look at the WHO, cervical cancer
21:03elimination key pillars, the key targets, the third pillar is make sure 90% of any abnormal screens actually attend
21:11follow up and 90% of any cervical disease diagnosed actually receive treatment.
21:16So we have, so far, after seven years of doing all these outreach programs, we have maintained 88% compliance
21:23to follow up among those who have tested positive within program roles.
21:27And what did we do? We, like I said earlier, we plan even before the event happens. We basically put
21:34ourselves in the women's shoes because we also obtained their secondary contact.
21:38If I cannot locate the women who are tested positive, we'll speak to, because we established some sort of relationship
21:44since the beginning. So we speak to secondary contact or the local healthcare providers who know the women, because I
21:50might come in, you know, sounds like strangers to them.
21:53We have to go through the people that we trust, you know, slowly build the trust. And also, sometimes in
22:00really rural areas, when we work with local collaborators, we have to tell the local collaborators, if there's any abnormal
22:07screens, can you pay for the taxi for them to go to hospital?
22:10And we have to go through the hospital. And we have to go through the hospital. And we have done
22:11that, you know, because Rose, our program, we mainly, you know, support in terms of the screening, and of course,
22:18the coordination between the women and the healthcare facilities.
22:21But to be there to support, to bring the women to hospital, we still need community leaders and local teams
22:27to help. So it's a collective effort to do this. And I think very importantly, like I said, we have
22:34to manage our expectation.
22:36It's very important for us to tell the women, this is a test not to find out you have cancer
22:41or not. This is to find whether you have the risk of developing cancer or not.
22:45So that's a huge difference. Because if you say I do this test means I'm going to get cancer. That's
22:51the very common mindset. We are telling them you are doing the test to prevent cervical cancer from happening. So
22:57they understand, okay, if there's abnormal result, it's not the end of the world. We explain that treatments will only
23:03take half a day, you know, and your transport to the local hospital will be covered by, you know, by
23:09the local, you know, the MPs or ADUNs.
23:11So we give that peace of mind in terms of financial, yeah, you know, thank you. Yeah, see, right. So
23:18we, yeah, that is, yeah, so that is what we are trying to do. It covers end to end. Don't
23:25leave them just, it's not just a test. It's a whole process.
23:28And we ought to be able to have like 100% treatment access if you're, regardless of how many percentile
23:35of cases are found via the HPV DNA test, right?
23:38Dr. Yeo, that brings me to the next step then. So let's say if outreach continues with the good efforts
23:46of program rows as well as Teal Asia combining,
23:50then it succeeds in reaching more women. But also then diagnostics and treatment services also need to be able to
23:57keep pace
23:58with a perceptual and real increase in cases for timely assessment and also appropriate care.
24:06What are some of your thoughts on that?
24:08Well, this is the very few cancers where the incident is declining.
24:12Thanks to Malaysia's effort of HPV vaccination for their young girls below 15 years old.
24:17This is a huge, tremendous effort. And when something like this happened to a country, it just doesn't happen because
24:24nobody stood up.
24:25It happens because a group of strong people stood their grounds and say, we're going to do this today.
24:32So it's 2010 we had them.
24:36And I believe we are about to also think about vaccinating our boys.
24:40So some of us, that will be my one gold dream to actually make sure this happens before my retirement.
24:49That's incredible because, of course, that then covers the entire segment of the population which has been ignored so far,
24:57whereby HPV transmission actually occurs.
25:00Correct.
25:01Right.
25:01And this happens because as oncologists, we go for year to year gynae meetings to see incidents of cancer.
25:06We suddenly realize there's this thing called herd immunity, which means not only cervix cases were not coming to me
25:13anymore.
25:13Head and neck cancers were down too.
25:15Anal cancers were down too.
25:17And all of this are HPV related.
25:19So the fact speaks for you.
25:20And you're downfunded by thinking, why didn't we think of this earlier?
25:23We could have stopped this earlier.
25:25But when a group of women like Dr. Koo and Selena, when you meet Selena's friends and you see the
25:32energy and sense behind it,
25:34and you have inotamina, it's wonderful because you know you'll be driving this force.
25:39So I think the treatment should be better because in government hospital, you have very highly trained oncologists.
25:48And the gynecologists, they are there for 30 years.
25:50So they do so much more than Western doctors.
25:53They operate twice as many.
25:55So I think with less patients to do so, they'll be able to do it better.
25:59The cost, it should be down because we are also at the backyard of China and India.
26:03So a lot of medications like immunotherapy are already off patent.
26:06So we can use this at a really much lower cost.
26:10Exactly.
26:11So everything is pointing towards it actually shrinking.
26:15It's just that we do need to now be looking at women who are above 30 and ensuring they are
26:20covered at least.
26:22So Selena, that brings me to asking you to share with us a little bit more about tea lasers, awareness
26:29week and gala event.
26:30And this won't be the first year that you're holding all of this.
26:34But where did that come out from?
26:36And what are you looking forward to for the year?
26:40I'm so excited to share.
26:43Well, last year it happened because WHO said, can we trust you?
26:52Last year was the first year that they announced cervical cancer elimination is on its way.
27:03Yes, elimination.
27:04And can we give you the mandate?
27:07Give you the mandate.
27:08Yes.
27:08Give you the mandate to launch it in Malaysia and show the world that Malaysia is in solidarity for elimination.
27:20Again, I just said, OK, that was at the conference.
27:26And then I came back and I said, oh, my God, what did I get myself into?
27:29Now I got to rally the whole country.
27:32But I was very lucky.
27:33I have the support of PNB 118.
27:39So they agreed to light up for the first time their building in the colour teal, which is an iconic
27:49building.
27:50So the whole world can see what Malaysia is doing.
27:53And Malaysia is behind elimination goals.
27:57So that was what happened.
27:59So last year I did a lot of awareness work talking about what teal Asia is all about, what cervical
28:07cancer is all about.
28:09And to, you know, to just basically raise funds for more screening via Program Rose.
28:17I will forever be indebted to Program Rose because of the help that they gave me when I was undergoing
28:25treatment of Prof Wood herself.
28:29So that was last year.
28:31I raised a lot of awareness, raised funds.
28:33And then this is the second year we're going to do the World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day celebrations.
28:41We will kick off not on the 17th.
28:44We will kick off on the 10th of November.
28:46A week in advance.
28:48A week in advance.
28:48I just switched the dates a little bit.
28:51A week in advance to kick off the program at the Waldorf Astoria, Kuala Lumpur.
28:56It just recently opened.
28:58So we are one of the few that is having a gala event there.
29:02Wonderful.
29:02So that's definitely going to help raise the profile as well.
29:05And as we look to landing the conversation too.
29:08So just FYI, Teal Asia, the first week of action raised about close to 60,000 ringgit.
29:14Correct.
29:14Generating an estimated 1.5 million ringgit in media reach alone.
29:18So all of this matters because year on year you're able to not just reach out more but
29:24also raise more critical funds for that care.
29:26So this year we're going to have the gala on November 10th and then we're going to have
29:31our fitness day.
29:32Last year we had the pickle paddle tournament.
29:36This year we're going to have a fitness day.
29:38So all the ladies are coming to incorporate fitness into their lifestyle because it's proven
29:45that if you are fit, you'll be half the battle.
29:49Yeah, and easier to recover as well.
29:50Yes, yes, correct.
29:51And then we are going to close the week on November 17th, the day itself, with one of
29:59our signature advocacy events.
30:01It's called Men Matter Too.
30:04Right.
30:05And this is where...
30:06What Dr. Yeo was saying.
30:08Dr. Yeo was saying, we've got to rally the men to come together because when...
30:15Get tested as well, you know.
30:16Testing, no.
30:18Vaccination.
30:19Vaccination is what we're recommending now.
30:21But, you know, cervical cancer might affect...
30:24That person could be your mother, your sister, your daughter, and someone, you know, a female
30:31in your life, right, your wife.
30:33So which is why men should and must play a role in our elimination goals.
30:39Exactly.
30:40Because they can also form, of course, the bulk of that support ecosystem as well.
30:44Empathy.
30:45If your wife is going through treatment, maybe you can cook rice at home.
30:51Maybe you can...
30:52Fair enough, at the very least.
30:53Maybe you take some time off from work so that you don't have to send your little children
30:59to neighbours and relatives.
31:02So, you know, step in.
31:03Yeah, step in and step up.
31:05Yes.
31:05Selina, Dr. Yeo, as well as Dr. Koo, thank you so much for the invaluable discussion and
31:10helping us frame it, not just from an economic lens, but really the rare opportunity we have
31:16to actually eliminate cervical cancer in Malaysia.
31:19Yes.
31:22Well, cervical cancer elimination does depend entirely on women being able to not just access
31:27prevention but also complete care.
31:29That investment protects lives and families' financial security too.
31:33That's all we have time for today on Niagara Spotlight.
31:36Here's to a productive week ahead.
31:38I'm Tabina Khalsji, signing off for now.