ABRACADABRA
(Awareness of Breast and Cervical Cancer: Don't Be Afraid)
SCORA CIMSA FK UNPAD
To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, we held ABRACADABRA which stands for Awareness of Breast and Cervical Cancer: Don't be afraid. The goal of this activity is to raise awareness about breast and cervical cancer, also to support patients and survivors of this cancer. The event consists of several interventions. On the first intervention on 26 October 2019, we visited Rumah Singgah Kasih which is a place for cancer patients and survivors that reside outside of Bandung which is managed by Bandung Cancer Society. We were inspired by their stories and experiences. We also brought some goods to show our support for them.
A day before the second intervention we held Local Peer Educator Training with two topics: breast cancer and cervical cancer. The topic of breast cancer was presented by Mrs. Lola from the Lovepink organization. Lovepink organization is an organization that works on giving an accompaniment for breast cancer patient and their families. Mrs. Lola is a breast cancer survivor as well. She taught us about SADARI (Periksa Payudara Sendiri), a method to check our breast for early diagnose to prevent breast cancer. Cervical cancer topic was presented by Dewi Rani Pelitawati, one of the PETRAs in CIMSA FK Unpad. She taught us about the etiology, risk factor, sign and symptoms of cervical cancer. All of the materials were taught to prepare us for being a facilitator on focus group discussion on the second intervention in Desa Panyileukan.
On 29 October 2019, we held our second intervention. This event consists of a seminar about breast and cervical cancer, talkshow with cancer survivors, and a free IVA test and pap smear for the women cadres of Desa Panyileukan. The seminar was brought by Yayasan Kanker Indonesia. We also collaborated with them to provide free IVA test and pap smear for all the participants. The resource person for the talk show is Ibu Yulyta, the cervical cancer survivor, and Ibu Herti, a breast cancer survivor. While waiting for the IVA test and pap smear we held focus group discussion where we divide the cadre into small groups and discuss breast and cervical cancer, focusing on the early prevention stage, which includes SADARI.
We hope ABRACADABRA could make an impact on raising people’s awareness about breast and cervical cancer, therefore we also participate in reducing the numbers of breast and cervical patients. We also hope the patient and survivor get our support and realize that they are not alone.