UCSI University School of Nursing recently organised a Women’s Health Forum themed “Women, Love Yourselves” in conjunction with International Women’s Day. The Forum, held at the Blue Ocean Hall, (North Wing) of the Kuala Lumpur Campus, featured speakers from various fields and backgrounds. The speakers were, Ms. Sherry Lim, a cancer survivor and author of There is Hope, Ms. Betty Yeoh, Programme Manager of the All Women’s Action Society of Malaysia (AWAM), Dr. Yong Chee Meng, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Professor Dr. Norfadzillah Binti Hitam, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, UCSI University.

Ms. Sherry Lim was at the peak of her advertising career when she was diagnosed with fourth stage terminal cancer relapse in 2006, after a twelve-year remission. Lim talked at length about the importance of women getting annual check-ups to detect cancer at the earliest stage. “When I was diagnosed with fourth stage cancer, I was too busy with my career, and had not noticed the growth that was forming on my chest,” she said. This is why she emphasised the importance of women going for regular pap smear tests as a health check. Dr. Yong concurs. “I’ve always advocated regular breast examinations on oneself, and at least three pap smears in a year to detect cancer at an early stage.” According to Dr. Yong, cervical cancer is the number two killer of women, next to breast cancer.

Ms. Lim said she made a full recovery by submitting to her faith, what she terms as “word therapy”. “I took my favourite verses from the Bible, and read them every day, and kept up an active lifestyle. Soon my cancer began to shrink.” She advices those who face the same situation to always seek medical help early, exercise within one’s limits, and get rid of negative feelings.

Ms. Betty Yeoh and Prof. Dr. Norfadzillah spoke about the many stereotypes women face, and advised women to be well informed about their legal and civil rights. According to Prof. Dr. Norfadzillah, in 2007, Malaysia was placed 92 out of 128 countries in the Gender Gap Index. This index ranks countries on the basis of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment and health and survival.  “Malaysia still has a long way to go to raise women’s status to give them equal opportunity in various fields."

According to Ms. Yeoh, 1 in 3 women in Malaysia experience violence at least once in their life, and that is, in itself, a silent killer. “Violence against women has become somewhat of a taboo, and is rarely spoken of. This is AWAM uses the tagline ‘Break the Silence’” she says. She elaborated that gender equality should be promoted while children are still young. “It is crucial to educate them since childhood regarding human rights violation and its effect on limiting human potentials.”

The forum covered three main aspects of a women’s well-being, from physical, emotional to the spiritual. Dr. Yong and Ms. Lim, in particular, gave a lot of valuable advice mostly related to dealing with terminally ill patients, to the audience who were mostly nursing students. Based on her experience working at AWAM, Ms. Yeoh gave her expert view on the finer points of patient confidentiality, especially when dealing with a patient who is suspected to be abused. Prof. Dr. Norfadzillah meanwhile advised students to balance their career and life, and strongly advocated the audience to resist conforming to accepted stereotypes for women. “Take charge of your own lives, speak up and be heard, and don’t just be a statistic!” she emphasised.