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Cancer Survivors Conquer Another Uphill Battle
- 77-year-old among survivors who trek up Mount Faber

Straining muscles, pumping hearts and beads of perspiration.
Nobody said scaling up a hill would be an easy task and neither is it to battle against cancer.

And, hence the Hill of Hope event on Saturday, 6 Oct 2007, organised for some 70 cancer survivors in conjunction with the Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), served as a symbolic reminder of the challenges confronting the victims and how they can overcome cancer. These survivors were among the 220 people who made it to the top of Mount Faber, Including multi-disciplinary team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals from NCCS.

The trek uphill proved to be an enjoyable experience for the participants whose ages range from 7 to 77 years. An early drizzle threatened to spoil the evening’s event but true to form, everyone stood their ground and eventually the setting sun peeped from behind the clouds to ward off the rain.

To flag off the participants was Mrs Karen Koh, Deputy CEO of SingHealth, who enthusiastically trudged up the slope after Health Educator Bob Koh led them to some warm-up exercises.

Along the way, participants lit up the hill with glow sticks, which symbolised hope while they looked for clues and words that were essential ‘ingredients’ in overcoming the odds against cancer as part of the games for the evening.

Once at the top, more fun, entertainment and a sumptuous buffet awaited them at The Jewel Box. There was a SongSpeak by Arts For Health volunteers; students from Lasalle College of the Arts and members from the Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra.

The joyous night came to a colourful close, with brightly lit placards forming the message “NCCS VS CANCER”. And just as everyone was departing, rain overcame the balmy evening to give the event a nice cool closure.