Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan (centre) and other representatives press buttons to kick off the media campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer. — VNS Photo Thu Trang

HÀ NỘI — A media campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer called "Working together for the woman I love" was launched on Thursday afternoon in Hà Nội.

The campaign was launched in response to World Breast Cancer Prevention Month and the 93rd anniversary of the Việt Nam Women's Union (October 20).

It was kicked off by the Bright Future Fund, a fund to support cancer patients, with the companionship of the Roche Pharma Vietnam Co Ltd and other partners.

The campaign was organised with hope that women will take care of their health and love themselves, especially proactively implementing breast cancer screening.

Under the campaign, lots of activities for breast cancer patients across the country will be conducted.

The series of programmes "Breast Cancer Patients Forum" will be held in Hà Nội and HCM City to update official information on diagnosis and treatment, and answer questions from patients during and after treatment.

This will be also an opportunity for patients and medical staff to meet, share experiences, and give each other strength and optimism during the treatment journey.

The event "Hair for people with cancer" with the message "So many strands of hair, so much love" will be organised at hospitals and cancer centres nationwide.

During the treatment process, in addition to facing fatigue and pain, the female patients were also extremely self-conscious because their shiny, smooth hair was reduced to only a few stray strands, and even their eyebrows and eyelashes were gone because of chemical side effects. Understanding and sympathising with the sick, the Bright Future Fund brings encouragement and joy to the ‘warriors’ by donating wigs woven from real hair, which expresses the affection and care of the community for the resilient women.

The campaign has been implemented for the past 10 years.

It has provided free screening to more than 72,000 women nationwide.

Thousands of women have been instructed how to care for their breasts, how to detect the disease early, how to effectively prevent the disease and received information related to breast cancer.

In addition, events such as parading double-decker buses to raise awareness of early detection of breast cancer have also attracted a large number of people's attention and positive responses.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan said, "The campaign has made a big splash in recent years. I call on the community to work together to repel breast cancer. Cancer screening in general and breast cancer screening in particular should be included in periodic health check-up programmes when women turn 40.

“The work is towards a strong and healthy Việt Nam,” she said.

Associate professor Nguyễn Thị Xuyên, former Deputy Minister of Health and Chairwoman of the Bright Future Fund, said: “Screening and early detection of breast cancer for women is extremely important. Through this campaign, we hope that Vietnamese women will be equipped with knowledge and raise awareness about this leading fatal disease.”

Lennor Carrillo, general director of Roche Pharma Việt Nam, said: "For the past decade, Roche Pharma Việt Nam has been at the forefront of optimising breast cancer care through early screenings and access to innovative treatments. Today, we celebrate the 10th year anniversary of our partnership in advocating for a healthier future for women in Việt Nam. We are honoured to be a part of this meaningful journey and remain dedicated to creating a positive impact in the fight against breast cancer."

The Bright Future Fund under the Ministry of Health was founded on August 18, 2011.

Breast cancer is a common cancer among women in Việt Nam and most countries around the world.

Statistics of the health ministry showed that each year Việt Nam sees 182,563 new cases of cancer, of which breast cancer is 21,555 cases, accounting for 11.8 per cent.

The disease can be completely cured if detected early, treated promptly and with the right method. The earlier it is detected, the simpler and more effective the treatment, with a high cure rate and low treatment costs.

The prerequisite is treatment when the cancer is in its early stages.

Therefore, screening and early detection of breast cancer as soon as women reach the age at high risk of the disease (from 40 and older) is very important.

Although in recent years, education to raise community awareness about breast cancer prevention has been deployed in provinces and cities, many women have not been proactive in screening for breast cancer, according to the health ministry. — VNS