Health In The
Heartlands 2008 @ IMM
Saturday, May 31 2008
Some 1000 people turned up at IMM on 31 st May, Saturday to participate in the National Cancer Centre Singapore’s (NCCS) public outreach event - Health in the Heartlands.
This is the first time that NCCS held a major outreach programme in the western sector. The objective was to help heartlanders understand how they can lead healthy lifestyles and take steps to prevent cancer.
 Said NCCS Director, Prof Soo Khee Chee, “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.”
The highly anticipated event kicked off at 9.45am with a heart-pumping Body Combat aerobics demonstration to energise visitors, volunteers and staff alike.
 Besides this, visitors were also engaged through interactive games (e.g. a crossword puzzle) designed to test their knowledge on cancer as well as to share information with them about preventive measures. Kids were not left out as they queued for their balloons at the arts corner.
Goodie bags and free breakfast were also a huge draw, and kept our volunteers and staff busy throughout the day. Ms Flora Yong, the chairman of HIH Organising Committee, said the turnout was better than anticipated and was looking forward to hold the next event.
The guest of honour was Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports who turned up in the HIH T-shirt.
He commended the organisers and participants and encouraged those present to
 heed the call to go for regular health screenings. He noted that cancer could be cured if detected early.
Also present were Prof Tan Ser Kiat, Group CEO of the Singhealth Group and Director of NCCS, Prof Soo Khee Chee.
 NCCS management staff, including Chairman of Medical Board Dr Vijay Kumar Sethi, Dr Sherman Ong, the Chief Development Officer, and head of departments Dr Kon Oi Lian (Medical Sciences), A/Prof Koong Heng Nung (Surgical Oncology), Dr James Khoo (Oncologic Imaging), as well as other NCCS oncologists, were there to provide support and take part in the activities.
Prizes were also given out to winners of the Light of Life competition, an inter Junior College Photography Competition which was designed to raise the awareness of cancer among our youth.
For competition winners, click [ here ]
 The health talks, in English and in Mandarin, were well received by the participants. The speakers were Dr Wong Nan Soon from the NCCS Department of Medical Oncology and Dr Koh Poh Koon from the Singapore General Hospital’s Department of Colorectal Surgery.
They spoke about the importance of early detection and prevention of cancer.
I-CAN challenge
The highlight of the event was the I-CAN challenge, organised by NCCS’ Department of Psychosocial Oncology.
The participants were formed into groups of three, consisting of cancer survivors and their families.
These groups were tasked to run around the shopping mall to fulfil various tasks within an hour, with the first group to return to the event location as the winner. It was a heart-racing race to the finish, as the first two groups came running neck-and-neck to the finish line.
The top three teams were:
Blossom - from the Breast Support Group at SGH
Sinar - from the Malay Support Group
Eclipse - from the Lymphoma Support Group
Thanking Patient Ambassadors
To commemorate World Cancer Survivors Day on 1 June 2008, patient ambassadors at NCCS were presented with certificates to thank them for their invaluable contributions and support towards the various psychosocial activities organised by NCCS.
These ambassadors, who are patients themselves, help out at events and activities that the Department of Psychosocial Oncology organises to support fellow cancer patients in their cancer journey.
In total, 9 ambassadors were given certificates of commendations, while 14 were given certificates of appreciation.
NCCS thanks these wonderful, selfless individuals for their continued support towards helping fellow patients.
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