2008 Media Releases

Kicking off the June holidays with a mega Health-in-the- Heartlands Carnival
Tuesday, May 27 2008

Singapore, 27 May 2008 – Parents and children alike will be able to jump-start their June holiday period this year in a refreshingly healthy fashion as a mega health extravaganza rolls into the midst of the HDB heartlands on May 31.

2. Aptly named Health in the Heartlands, the event will be launched by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports at 10.00a.m. at the IMM Level 3 Garden Plaza located at Jurong East Street 21.

3. Health-in-the-Heartlands is a major outreach programme spearheaded by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) to help heartlanders understand how they can lead healthy lifestyles to combat cancer, which is a top killer disease in Singapore.

4. NCCS Director, Prof Soo Khee Chee said: “This is the first major concerted effort by various departments within NCCS to hold this public education exercise because we want to reach out to as many people as we can. We want to tell them firstly, cancer can be prevented. Secondly, in many instances early detection through screenings can often lead to
a cure.”

“It is wasteful to see so many people who could have had many more years of happy life afflicted with this disease either because of their lifestyles or because they did not go for health screenings regularly. In the past we have been conducting talks on a smaller scale, but we thought that it is opportune for us to do a major event to reach out to as many people as we can.”

5. From year 1999 to 2007, the NCCS Cancer Helpline received close to 45,000 calls. The main users were (i) family members, (ii) relatives, (iii) friends and (iv) patients (listed in ranking order). The common enquiries ranged from general queries such as signs, symptoms, risk factors and screening tests, to diet and nutrition, to treatment related issues.
To help the public understand cancer, two medical specialists will share their knowledge with the public. Dr Wong Nan Soon from the NCCS Department of Medical Oncology will speak in English on the early detection and prevention of cancer. Dr Koh Poh Koon from the Singapore General Hospital’s Department of Colorectal Surgery will speak in Mandarin on the early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer.

6. In addition, there will be educational booths and exhibitions featuring the various screenings available for cancer prevention. For food lovers, there is the Healthy Peranakan Cooking demonstration by popular Master Chef Philip Chia. He will be sharing his healthy recipe on how to whip up two Peranakan dishes – Organic Curry Fried Brown Rice and Tofu
Otah.

7. The event will also showcase a portion of the 102 entries received from junior college students participating in the ‘Light of Life’ photography competition where they interpreted the ‘light’ they saw in their darkest moment through their lenses. Winners will be announced on the day. A total of $1,500 cash prize and trophies are up for grabs.

8. For the first time, in conjunction with World Cancer Survivors Day, which falls on 1 June this year, NCCS patient ambassadors who have made major contributions to support other patients in their cancer journey would be presented with Special Commendations and Certificates of Recognition at this public event. The centre continues its efforts to empower more patient ambassadors with the right skills to help others through their cancer journey and hopes that more survivors would be motivated to come forward to raise cancer awareness.

9. Health-in-the-Heartlands is all set to be a truly star-studded affair with popular celebrity hosts such as Adrian Pang, Michelle Chong and Suhaimi Yusof to add fanfare to the festivities. There will be free offerings of breakfast treats, popcorn, candy floss and balloons, and goodie bags. In addition, NCCS staff are volunteering on-site to provide Henna
Tattoo services to the crowd. Free colorectal screening kits would also be given.

10. This event is kindly supported by:
Partners – Breast Cancer Foundation, Children’s Cancer Foundation, Dover Park Hospice, Health Promotion Board, Nanyang Polytechnic and Singapore General Hospital
Sponsors – IMM, Nestle, Pacific Cybergreen, PUB, Sunshine and Vitagen

News Editors/Duty Editors:
The media is cordially invited to the event where NCCS Director Professor Soo Khee Chee will make the welcome address followed by the opening speech by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Doorstop interviews can be arranged.

For details and pictures of the event, clieck [ here ]

For further info rmation, please contact: