UCSI University students listening attentively
to the forum
Ms. Sherry Lim answers an audience about
her personal journey to recovery
Prof. Dr. Norfadzillah gets her point
across to the women in the audience
Dr. Yong Chee Meng speaks to the audience,
while the other speakers look on
Kuala Lumpur, 09 March 2010 -
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.
"Without
prejudice to the rights of UCSI the information herein
is correct at the time of printing and UCSI reserves
the right to make amendments without prior notice."
Last updated:
19 Apr 2010
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