Breast Cancer Survivors Walk Up Mt Faber Trail To Mark Their Triumph In Overcoming Cancer
Saturday, 06 October 2007
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70-year-old among survivors who will light up placards affirming their support for all battling cancer |
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Hill of Hope event is organized by National Cancer Centre Singapore to mark Breast Cancer Month |
Singapore, 06 October 2007 - Two hundred and twenty people, including 70 cancer survivors, are taking the climb up Mt Faber in a symbolic gesture to register their triumph over cancer this Saturday (6 th October 2007) at 6pm. This project is a joint initiative by NCCS and the Department of Family Medicine and Continuing Care of SGH.
Named the “Hill of Hope”, the event draws not only cancer survivors and their family members, but also the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) multi-disciplinary team of health care professionals (doctors, nurses, researchers, allied health and administrative staff). These participants, aged 7 to 70 years, will gather at the foot of Marang Trail, walk up the less trodden path to the top of Mt Faber and light up the hill with glow sticks, embodying a message of hope. Whilst completing the climb signifies overcoming the struggle of their battle against breast cancer, this inaugural event is also a tribute to all survivors and unfailing supporters of cancer causes.
The walk is expected to take about 30 to 45 minutes, after a 10-minute warm up. There will be marshals as well as doctors along the trail to provide support and encouragement to the participants.
This is the first time that the Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) committee from NCCS is organizing an event for cancer survivors that involves walking up the hill. NCCS has held other events that involved survivors conquering an obstacle course and other challenges.
Dr Ho Gay Hui, Senior Oncologist at NCCS, who is the chairman for the Outram Campus BCAM Committee, said: “We want the public to know that cancer is not the end of the road. There are people who have been cured and they are leading active social lives. By walking up the trail to Mt Faber is a display of the state of these survivors’ health.”
At the top of Mt Faber, the participants will congregate at the Jewel Box restaurant, where they will have dinner and enjoy some light entertainment. Later, a select group of the participants will assemble colourfully lighted placards displaying the words: “NCCS VS CANCER”.
“Above all we need to know that what is important for us all is to recognize that we must go for regular screening even when we are healthy because early detection increases the hope for a cure,” said Dr Ho.
The Hill of Hope is a programme of I Can! And Arts for Health, and co-organised by the Singapore General Hospital. The exclusive sponsor is Pfizer Singapore Pte Ltd. The official venue is The Jewel Box, owned by Mt Faber Leisure Group.
The NCCS is a holistic cancer centre which offers not only the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients, but also counseling and various support groups activities to help cancer survivors to adjust back to their normal lives. NCCS also focuses on clinical trials and its specialists are involved in research work to broaden and deepen their understanding on cancer.
For further information, please contact:
Sunny Wee
Media & Community Relations Advisor,
Corporate Communications
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel. 6236 9424 / 92746922
Adeline Teo
Executive, Corporate Communications
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel. 62369429 / 81257251 |
