Showing posts with label World Cancer Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cancer Day. Show all posts

World Cancer Day and Lovepink Indonesia, Wonderful Community Supporting Breast Cancer Patients, Survivors and More

World Cancer Day 2021


World Cancer Day 2021 is here!

Every February 4th, the world commemorates the World Cancer Day. 

Cancer, has long been known as one of the scariest diseases. Up til now, statistic shows that approximately 9.6 million people passed away due to cancer each year. Four millions among them prematurely decease with the age ranging 30 - 69 years. We see more and younger victims affected by cancer. With this daunting phenomenon, we need to continue raising awareness about the danger of cancer and what we can do to fight it back and to prevent it. Moreover, we also need to support one another, as there are more and more cancer warriors, fighters, and survivors. And everyone can help of course... through your social media platforms, local communities, and your family.

I support World Cancer Day 2021!

Statistic shows that cancer kills more than AIDS, Malaria, and tuberculosis. Even when these three deadly diseases are combined. Sadly, 70% of those cancer patients reside in developing countries, including Indonesia. However, it is noted that 43% of cancer can be prevented, among others, by reducing alcohol and tobacco consumption, reducing the exposure to cancer triggers, joining vaccination programs and living a healthy life obviously. For sure, the numbers of cancer patients will increase if we don't take any preventive measures, including through awareness raising programs. 

kita bisa cegah kanker bersama (sumber : https://www.harikankersedunia.com/site/page/view/edukasi-kanker

Back in 2019, I celebrated the World Cancer Day with so many survivors in Jakarta, parading in Bundaran HI, one of the landmarks of Jakarta ( Read  WW: World Cancer Day 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia). But then 2020 and 2021 was marked with the pandemic and we didn't have our usual event to mark this important day for us. This is indeed the great opportunity to support the awareness raising campaign on the fights against all types of cancer.

Speaking of support, as a breast cancer survivor, I would love to introduce you to Lovepink Indonesia.

Have you heard of Lovepink Indonesia before?

Remember the Pink Virtual Walk which was held on October 4th, 2020? 

"Halo teman - teman, apa kabarnya? Tahu ngga kalau  Bulan Oktober diperingati sebagai Bulan  Peduli Kanker Payudara sedunia. Maka dari itu, Lovepink Indonesia ingin mengadakan acara Indonesia Goes Pink 2020 dengan menyelenggarakan Pink Virtual Walk untuk Breast Cancer Awareness. 

Beautiful face of Chelsea  E. Ihsan, Indonesian famous movie star, is smiling sweetly on the video I watched at Instagram. Chelsea, the ambassador of Lovepink Indonesia, has long been known as one of the Indonesian celebrities who is highly committed to the fight against breast cancer.  She has staunchly supported her mom in battling cancer and her mom is one of the founders of Lovepink Indonesia. I am so touched when she passionately showed here support to her mom, her mom's friends and all Lovepink Moms as well as breast cancer survivors across the nation.  She said " Your fight is my fight!" and I feel like 

As a breast cancer survivor myself, I am honoured to join this supportive and wonderful community. And let me introduce you to Lovepink Indonesia.

Lovepink indonesia (source: http://www.lovepinkindonesia.org/)

Lovepink Indonesia is a non-profit organisation which focusses on awareness raising activities on the early detection of breast cancer through breast self-exam, or in Bahasa Indonesia, SADARI (Periksa Payudara Sendiri), as well as clinical breast exam or SADANIS (Periksa Payudara Secara Klinis), as well as accompanying those fighting breast cancer. Lovepink is a community and survivor-based organization which focuses on all the supportive efforts to breast cancer patients and survivors.

Sebagai organisasi nirlaba yang berfokus pada kegiatan sosialisasi deteksi dini dengan cara SADARI (Periksa Payudara Sendiri), SADANIS (Periksa Payudara Secara Klinis), dan juga berbagai progam pendampingan bagi sesama perempuan yang menderita kanker payudara, Lovepink telah banyak melakukan berbagai kegiatan yang meningkatkan kesadaran kita semua tentang bahaya kanker payudara serta hal - hal penting yang perlu kita ketahui untuk menghindari maupun mengobatinya. Bukan hanya kepada perempuan, tapi juga kepada para pria dan anggota keluarga lainnya yang perlu memberikan dukungan kepada para penderita kanker payudara.

For sure, Lovepink Indonesia is a wonderful community supporting breast cancer patients, Survivors and more.

To read more about my fight against breast cancer, please find the following posts:




#WeTalkAboutCancer: Chemotherapy and its impacts


Disclaimer: this is a repost of my previous note on World Cancer Day 



IT'S THE WORLD CANCER DAY!
Every 4th of February, we salute those surviving cancers, cheer those fighting it and light the memories of those who have lost their lives to cancer.
Last year, we had a special event for World Cancer Day 2016 at the United Nations
But this year, I haven't seen one at the UN.

I have come across more infographic about cancer from worldcancerday.com.
From the top 5 most frequent cancers, breast cancer stays at no. 2 after lung cancer.




 Moreover, with the trend we have now, it's likely that cancer will continue to increase :(



That's why,  in so many ways, more and more of us are touched by cancer.
Be it your dearest family members, colleagues, neighbors, or even yourself.
And your life-changing journey begins.

One of the toughest part is your road to recovery from cancer is perhaps chemotherapy.
Many of us are already disheartened when we hear this word.
Tons of questions were asked and many, most of the time, are not satisfyingly answered because this process brings different impacts to each patient.

So, what do you have in mind when you hear about chemo? 
What are the impact? How long do we have to do it? Will I be strong enough to endure it? Will I lose my hair? How can we cope from it? 
Those are some of the common questions we hear about chemo.
So, in this edition of #WeTalkAboutCancer with Yervi Hesna, we'll talk about chemotherapy.

And here's my story...

Done with Chemoteraphy?

I am :)...

Alhamdulillaaah...

It's been quite a while for me but I guess it's good to share more about chemotherapy and its impacts. I am fully aware that chemo is probably the hardest part that we have to go through while battling breast cancer. And every patient might have different regime as well. 
I happened to have doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide or famously known as AC for 4 cycle every 3 weeks, followed by Taxol and Herceptin every 2 weeks for 12 times.

It was tough indeed..
But all in all, I managed to go through it with huge helps from everyone around me.
This post is one of my personal records about the treatment, particularly the impact that I felt and am still feeling till now from the chemo.
Hope it helps..






Saya sempat cerita di posting sebelumnya kalau kemoterapi yang saya jalani memang seru :). Syukurnya satu per satu semua prosedur tersebut sudah terlewat dan sekarang saya baru selesai menjalani proses rekonstruksi payudara dan akan dilanjutkan dengan radiasi. Ceritanya menyusul yaaaa :).


Satu yang belum saya share secara details di postingan sebelumnya. 

Apa saja sih dampak kemoterapi?

For sure, the impacts of chemo are enormous. Judging from my own experience, some of those impacts even stay up until now, although I have finished my chemo months ago.

Dampak dari kemoterapi memang banyak. 
You wanna know some of them? At least, these are what I myself have experienced during my treatment..

1. Hair
It can be thinning, partial or total hair lost. And we talk about hair, that means all the hair in our body, including eyebrows and eye lashes. It's temporary, once the chemo is done, it will grow back. 
Setelah kemo AC kedua, rambut saya mulai rontok. Banyak banget..sekali rontok bisa satu genggam. Akhirnya, saya pun memutuskan untuk mencukur habis rambut saya :). Daripada saya stress melihat rambut rontok ngg kira-kira, akhirnya suami pun mencukur habis rambutnya dan rambut saya di minggu kelima setelah kemo pertama saya mulai. Jadi judulnya kompakan, kompakan botak :). 




Bagi banyak penderita kanker, kehilangan rambut mungkin salah satu dampak yang efeknya sangat besar. Walaupun secara physical tidak sakit, namun secara psikologis banyak yang merasa malu, stress dan tidak nyaman saat harus kehilangan banyak atau semua rambutnya. 

My (not-so-new) hairstyle...
Frankly speaking, dokter saya berkali-kali bilang supaya saya siap dengan dampak kemo yang satu ini. Well, sesiap-siapnya kita, memang tidak gampang ketika kita harus kehilangan rambut. Apalagi buat perempuan, rambut kan bukan hanya sekedar rambut, tapi juga mahkota. Alhamdulillah, saya diberi kekuatan dan kepercayaan diri untuk berkepala botak. And I guess, it suits me fine :)


Setelah selesai dengan AC, taxol juga membuat rambut lain di badan saya pun habis berguguran. Termasuk alis dan bulu mata :). Sereeem lho ternyata kalau ngga punya alis..You look weird :). 


Tanpa alis...agak-agak gimanaa gituuu :)

Untungnya saya ikutan program Look Good Feel Better yang memang khusus diadakan bagi perempuan yang mengalami dampak berat dari kemoterapi. Seperti yang ceritakan di postingan tentang program keren ini, saya diajari dandan dan diberi satu set make-up keren-keren gratis. 
Alhamdulillaaah...memang rezeki :)

2. Intestine

Bad things like ulcers, nausea, vomiting and constipation fall under this category. 
Well, I have to say it's one of the toughest! Imagine yourself throwing up after eating or drinking anything :(. 

Bayangin aja ngg bisa makan dan minum karena bawaannya muntah meluluuu :(. Waktu hamil aja ngga gini-gini amat hehehe. Dan karena saya harus menghindari dehidrasi, mau ngga mau saya paksakan minum yang banyak. Saat kemo, air yang banyak masuk adalah jus jeruk dan air kelapa. Air putih pun perlu perjuangan, padahal di saat normal saya pecinta air putih berat. Well, untungnya ini hanya untuk 4 hari pertama setelah kemo. Dan semakin sering kita menjalani kemo, semakin banyak racun yang menumpuk di badan. Akibatnya, badan pun makin kewalahan mengatasinya. Tapi syukurnya, obat anti muntah dan mual pun makin canggih. Asal saya rutin mengkonsumsinya, efek yang satu ini bisa dikurangi.

3. Skin and nail changes
Some of the impacts include darkening and/or peeling of the skin, nail changes, particularly the color, rashes and flushing. 

Kulit saya jadi super kering dan kuku pun mengalami perubahan warna. jadi menghitam, terutama di kaki. Yang parahnya, kuku jempol kaki saya suka berdarah and I don't even feel it! Yang ada darah sudah kemana-mana dan saya baru panik setelah dikasih tau Udi atau Bo :). Well, sebenarnya sepanjang kita aware dan langsun dibersihkan tidak masalah. Things will get worse when we got the infection, so make sure you watch out..

it might look gross but this is what happen to me toe :(

4. Fatigue

Setelah kemo, saya selalu merasa capek. Capek bangeeet malah. Memang  badan rasanya ngga jelas tapi yang pasti saya gampang letih. Jalan sebentar capek, naik tanggal sedikit capek...padahal sebelumnya saya tukang jalan :). 

Gradually, I try to build up my strength again. Well, fatigue is pretty common for those experiencing chemotherapy, so I have to say I'm pretty ready with this one as well. Again my doctor told me that I have to get easy with things during chemo and for me who is so used to move around, it needs some adjustments "_". 


5. Heart

Changes in heart beat, heart failure or damage afterbeing treated with chemotherapy drugs for a long time are listed. Sounds so scarrying, right. But I make sure that my heart is constantly checked. Right now, I have ecocardiac test every 3 months.

Mudah-mudahan dampak kemo yang berkaitan dengan jantung bisa maksimal. Untungnya di sini saya juga wajib memeriksa kondisi jantung saya melalau test ecocardio setiap 3 bulan sekali

6. Infertility

This is another hard blow for me. 
Chemoteraphy has stopped my menstrual cycle.  
Yuuup... no more period. at least during the chemo, that's what my oncologist said. 
Since my 2nd round of AC, my period gradually stopped. Until now :). 
Even before, my oncologist  has specifically asked me and my husband whether we have the intention to have another child. Because if we do, I have to freeze my eggs before starting the chemotherapy. For sure, getting pregnant during the pregnancy is a big no because chemotherapy is fatal for the fetus. And since chemo causes infertility,  starting with no menstruation, I have to get myself ready with pre-menopause symptoms like hot flushes, dry skin, and pain during sexual intercourse. Well, it's a lot to bear but here I am :).

Dampak lain dari kemo adalah infertilitas alias mandul. Iya, mandul.
Sebelum saya memulai kemo, onkologist saya memang sudah beryanya secara spesifik apakah saya san suami masih berniat akan menambah anak lagi. Karena kalau iya, maka saya harus membekukan sel telur saya sebelum kemo dimulai. Well, kemo kan prinsipnya racun yang membunuh sel, makanya sangat berbahaya bagi pasien dan janin jika hamil saat kemo. Alhamdulillah, saya dan Udi telah diberi sepasang anak yang lucu-lucu, jadi kami pun memutuskan  untuk tidak membekukan  sel telur saya.  

Selain itu, kemo juga membuat saya tidak lagi mengalami menstruasi. Sejak kemo AC yang kedua, menstruasi  saya berhenti berangsur-angsur hingga sekarang. Bahkan setelah kemo selesai pun, saya masih belum mengalami menstruasi.

Again, onkologist saya bilang bahwa saya akan mengalami gejala-gejala pre-menopause. Salah satunya adalah menstruasi  yang terhenti. Well, untuk beberapa orang dampak ini ada yang bersifat sementara, ada pula yang bersifat lebih permanen.

7. Nervous System change

Tingling in fingers, toes, arms or legs, or jaw pain, muscle weakness, irritability, depression and confusion are listed as impacts of chemo on our nervous system. That's a lot, right. But the good thing is it's not always happening to one person at the same time. But this has been identified from various patients undergoing chemo.

In my case, I do have this tingling sensation in my fingers and toes. It builds up since I started Taxol and the more Taxol I have in my system, the stronger the numbness and tingling sensation I feel. Even now, after almost 2 months since my last chemo, I still feel it. My oncologist suggested me to take folic acis, vitamin B6 and Lyrica, one of the medicine targetting nerves. Well, i sincerely hope it will go away after some times. It is quite irritating that the numbness make walking, buttoning my shirts or opening jars, some of the simpel task we do everyday, chalenging. 

Dampak lain yang saya rasakan dari kemo adalah kesemutan. 
Iya, kesemutan. Tapi bukan sembarang kesemutan yang tidak lama hilang. Ini kesemutan yang agak 'permanen'. Sejak saya diberi Taxol, kesemutan di ujung jari-jari tangan dan kaki mulai terasa dan makin lama makin keras. Onkologist saya menyarankan saya untuk mengkonsumsi asam folik, vitamin B6 dan salah satu obat saraf yang dinamakan Lyrica di sini. Memang sepintas terdengar sepele, tapi kesemutan ini membuat saya merasa terganggu saat berjalan, memasang kancing baju, atau membuka tutup botol misalnya. Mudah-mudahan, seiring dengan berkurangnya dampak Taxol di dalam tubuh saya, kesemutan ini pun bisa hilang :).

8. Veins

For sure, hardening of the veins in and around area of intravenous (IV) injection will happen. with high intensity if infusion that I have to do, it will take the tolls on those veins. Moreover, in worse cases, ulcer formation, tissue damage, or discomfort in and around the area of the IV injection may occur as well.

 Karena seringnya saya diinfus selama menjalani kemo, area di sekitar pembuluh darah yang digunakan juga terkena dampaknya. Lebam membiru atau agak terasa nyeri karena infus yang lumayan lama. Untungnya, suster yang menangani saya lumayan canggih dan jarun infus yang digunakan pun cukup halus, sehingga saya tidak terlaly merasakan sakit. tapi setelah 16 kali dikemo di tempat yang itu-itu juga, mau tidak mau pembuluh darah saya pun terasa tidak nyaman.

Well, frankly, I still have a looooong list of impacts of chemotherapy here, including in our eyes, ears, mouth and lungs. I also feel some joint and bone pain. My oncologist also briefly mentioned that the chemo drugs might hit the bone marrow causing low red blood cell counts which will make us feel tired, low white blood cell counts which make us vulnarable to infection and low platelets which make us easily bleed. Again, all these impacts are unique from one another. One might feel it, while others might not. 

But in my case,  in short, all these chemo makes me  feel like I'm getting older, muuuuch older, before the time.



my big smile after a few rounds of Taxol and Herceptin :)

So, those are some of the effects that I have experienced during my 4-round of AC and  during the 12-round of Herceptin and Taxol. As I said earlier, the tingling sensation on my fingers and toes, no period and low level of energy are still lingering till now..

But again, I am still in high spirit to continue my procedures. Next, I will share my breast reconstruction procedures and radiation, that I just started yesterday :). So, I guess I will have to be back with more details :).


cheers...stay positive!

References:


NYU Hospital Center on Chemotherapy, 2014Chemotheraphy and You, National Cancer Institute, 2011


Stay tune for more on #WeTalkAboutCancer #breastcancerawareness



WW: World Cancer Day 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia

I just joined the commemoration of the  World Cancer Day 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia, last weekend.

Us from Yayasan Kanker Indonesia

I know that the World Cancer Day itself is celebrated every February 4th, but apparently we celebrated it a bit later than that.

Many survivors, doctors, oncologists, medical personnel, as well as families and friends whose life have been touched by cancer have gathered that Sunday.

All of us were wearing costumes with specific colors, reflecting 10 colors of cancer awareness ribbons. I joined Yayasan Kanker Indonesia, Indonesian Cancer Foundation, for this event. 

Giant cancer awareness raising ribbon :)
So the plan was to gather with all other groups, walk to Bundaran Hotel Indonesia where we have car-free-day program, and take pictures of colourful ribbons from above using drone.

I joined the event with my aunty, Mira Boissevain, who is also breast cancer survivor like me. 
After we were done with the walk, we had our heart-pumping 30-minute non-stop Zumba and it was super fun!

I sincerely hope event like this will help raising awareness about cancer and the importance of early detection. 

The three of us...can you see the resemblance between me and my aunty Mira Boissevain?
So people, if you feel any lumps anywhere, do visit your doctor. The sooner the better and never underestimate any lumps or foreign things in your body!


Support us!

I'm a survivor!


Cheers
Stay healthy, everyone.
Do you celebrate World Cancer Day as well in your place?

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday (just click the link) and have fun with the link party 🎉


World Cancer Day 2016 at the United Nations



World Cancer Day is celebrated every February 4 since 2005.
Well, perhaps celebrate is not really the word. 
We mark the day as the World Cancer Day and perhaps, without trying to be so bitter, nothing is to celebrate once you have or being touched by cancer in various ways.

But for sure, the spirit to fight cancer should be celebrated, in a way that we should take all necessary actions and changes to fight it.




And the United Nations is surely taking its part in our global fight against cancer. 
Right on the D-day, February 4, an event with the theme "Towards a Cervical Cancer Free World" was held to mark this important day. Every Woman Every Child, Cervical Cancer Action, as well as the Permanent Mission of the US and Zambia sponsored this. 

We have a special screening of the 'Lady Ganga' movie, and inspiring documentary about a 45-year-old single mom who decided to break the world record of paddle boarding in Ganges river after being diagnosed with late stage cervical cancer. 




"Lady Ganga" is the story of Michele Baldwin, who, despite the fact that she was diagnosed with late stage cervical cancer, decided to do something incredible. She decided to break the world record paddle boarding the Ganges River. 

All is documented as she wanted to raise awareness about cervical cancer. About the importance of early detection. About the need to have access to HPV vaccine, which causes this deadly but preventable disease.

Very inspiring indeed.

And I cried like a river watching it.

Seeing her undying spirit. And commitment to help others avoiding the same situation as her. Her movie, screened in many places, including some remote areas and villages, has brought awareness to more women about the importance of pre-screening for us. Simple pap-smear procedures can save life.

Lady Ganga
Google it. 
Or you can directly find it in YouTube.
And you can watch it here as well :)



The movie is available for all to see. 
So that together, we can spread the words. We can fight cancer.

Audrey Baldwin, on the right side, is Michele Baldwin's daughter, who continues her mom's global campaign for cervical cancer and HPV vaccination
Malam itu saya bergegas menuju ECOSOC Chamber di Markas Besar PBB di NYC. Setelah melepas jaket dan meletakkan tas tangan atau handbag saya di salah satu kursi terdepan, saya pun membaca flyer yang disediakan oleh pihak panitia, UN Women. Dan saya terhentak membaca statistik yang ada.

Cervical Cancer, as statistics show, has been one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in low- and  middle-income countries. When we talked about the numbers, it reached approximately 250,000 women annually. Per year.
That's a huge number indeed.
And we can do something together to help improve this situation.

Statistik yang ada menunjukkan bahwa kanker serviks atau kanker leher rahim adalah salah satu penyebab kematian tertinggi akibat kanker yang banyak menimpa perempuan yang tinggal di negara-negara berkembang. Kurang lebih tercatat 250.000 perempuan yang meninggal akibat penyakit kanker ini. Sungguh angka yang tidak sedikit dan tentunya mengelitik kita untuk ikut berkontribusi guna menurunkan jumlah tersebut.




Apa yang bisa kita lakukan untuk membantu para penderita dan survivor kanker?
What can we do to help improve this situation?
A lot.
A lot that we can do to help fight cancer.

Take action. Inspire. Lead a healthy lifestyle and be a great example. Support those fighting and living with cancer. Speak out, spread the right information. Show love. Take early detection. Propose policy changes related to access to cancer care. Work with others in mobilizing support. Support those returning to work after cancer treatment. Share your story. And many others..

One thing for sure, there are 4 facts you need to know about cancer.


1. Cancer KILLS more than HIV/AIDS, Malaria and tubercolosis, even when we combine all three diseases.
Kanker ternyata membunuh lebih banyak orang dibandingkan penyakit AIDS, Malaria dan tuberkolosis, bahkan jika ketiga penyakit tersebut digabungkan.


2. More than one third of cancer is PREVENTABLE by observing healthy lifestyle (balance diet, physical activity, weight control, no smoking and no alcohol)
Lebih dari sepertiga penyakit kanker dapat dicegah dengan menjalani gaya hidup yang sehat (diet yang seimbang, melakukan aktivitas fisik, menjaga berat badan, tidak merokok dan tidak mengkonsumsi alkohol).


3. More than one third of cancer can be cured through EARLY DETECTION.
Lebih dari sepertiga kanker dapat disembuhkan apabila terdeteksi secara dini.


4. The numbers of people suffered from cancer will continue to increase if we don't take any PREVENTIVE MEASURES.
Jumlah penderita kanker akan terus bertambah jika kita tidak mengambil tindakan pencegahan.

You see, 4 basic facts that we cannot ignore and for sure together we can do something to fight it. One of the simple things we all can do here is sharing.
Sharing our story.
Sharing my story.
My fights, my tears, my spirit, my faith.

                                    
Let me tell you a little story....
Sharing is caring indeed.
Buat saya, berbagi cerita perjalanan melawan kanker payudara yang saya derita merupakan bagian dari terapi itu sendiri. Betapa segala ketakutan, kesedihan, sakit, panik dan rasa yang lain justru membuat kita jadi bertekad untuk bisa kuat dan terus maju melawan penyakit ini. Dan membaginya dengan penderita lain, atau siapa pun itu, tidak hanya membantu memberikan informasi mengenai apa yang bisa kita lakukan untuk mengobati kanker, namun juga meyakinkan orang lain untuk segera mengambil langkah-langkah sederhana untuk melakukan deteksi dini. Dimulai dengan hidup sehat seperti mengkonsumsi sayuran dan buah-buahan segar serta menghindari stress, dan melakukan pemeriksaan kesehatan secara teratur, seperti melakukan pap smears, mamogram dan sebagainya.


Hopes and supports are spread through your story

So, don't hesitate. Help us spread hopes, spirit and faith.
Through our story, we might be able to inspire others to take good care of their health and to take preventive measures needed to avoid cancer.
Remember, early detection is our best defense.
Don't let cancer ruin your life.

WE CAN. I CAN


References:

Various materials from http://www.worldcancerday.org/materials
harikankersedunia.com