Beyond breast cancer awareness in rural Sarawak, Malaysia - a documentary of outreach programmes

Society for Cancer Advocacy and Awareness Kuching (SCAN) – Malaysia

As part of the Breast Cancer programme, this project was awarded a grant for early detection of breast cancer in October 2022.

Project objectives

The goal of this project was to raise breast cancer awareness and promote the early detection and screening of breast cancer in rural areas of Sarawak, Borneo, a remote part of Malaysia that have limited access to medical information and where stigma is a major barrier. The team documented the outreach activities and used the material to develop a documentary to use as an advocacy tool.

Project description

The team worked with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to ensure a streamlined effort during the planning and implementation phases of the project as well as with the Sarawak Breast Cancer Support Group (SBCSG) to bring nurses and medical personnel on the outreach. The project team successfully visited four rural communities in the Borneo region and reached 169 women with screening and educational materials. Noting that many women in the region do not have access to information pertaining to the early detection of breast cancer, they utilised the Know Your Lemons leaflets in the communities to disseminate reliable information.

Following the outreach, the team produced a documentary to serve as a powerful advocacy tool, aiming to raise awareness for more outreach in the region.

Key numbers

169 women received education on breast health and identifying breast cancer symptoms

169 women received screening

Impact

Following the completion of the grant, a scientific article entitled “Breast Cancer Myths, Mysterious Miracles and Mistrust among Rural Womenfolk in Sarawak” was published. The study highlights cultural beliefs, barriers, and healthcare access challenges influencing breast cancer awareness and screening among rural and indigenous communities in Sarawak. In addition, quite a number of outreach activities, both in rural and urban areas, have been conducted since the launch of the documentary, reaching around 200 additional women.