(Alolamedia/Dili) Alola Foundation as a member organization of the South East Asia Breast Cancer Network and the International Union for Cancer Control (UICC) routinely organizes various activities to celebrate World Cancer Day which is celebrated every year on February 4. This year, Alola Foundation through the HALIKU (I choose to curate) sub-program in collaboration with the Timor-Leste National Breast Cancer Commission (KNKSTL) held a workshop for students. lecturers and structures from the Institute of Business (IOB)-Dili as well as students from the Informatics Engineering School (ETI) Fomentu-Dili. The workshop which was held on February 23 at the IOB-Dili Meeting Room was attended by more than 50 participants.

“Every year, we, the Alola Foundation, organize celebration activities because Alola is a member of the International Union for Cancer Control (UICC), an international network that works to build consensus, help patients, raise funds to help underprivileged communities get proper cancer care,” explained the Executive Director of the Alola Foundation, Mrs. Maria Guterres, at the opening session of the World Cancer Day celebration held at IOB – Dili.

Every year on February 4, the world commemorates World Cancer Day with a series of activities that strengthen efforts to socialize the dangers of cancer to people’s lives. United by Unique. The theme set for 2025 carries a profound message for the world’s perspective on cancer survivors and expects everyone to be able to put survivors at the center, not only focusing on the treatment aspect but also with an approach that integrates the unique needs of each survivor, with compassion and empathy in order to achieve better health outcomes.

“With this year’s theme, we are expected to not only see survivors but also see their overall health, we should not be ashamed to reveal the cancer that we suffer from because when we are ashamed and late in making a decision then our lives are in danger,” said the Executive Director of the Alola Foundation, Mrs. Maria Guterres.

As a non-communicable disease, every year according to world data, cancer can kill almost 8 million people and of that number, around 4 million people die between the ages of 30 and 69 years. The danger of cancer, especially breast cancer, is one of the reasons HALIKU was founded 11 years ago to provide education, advice, material support, spiritual and moral support to women affected by cancer.

During its 11 years of dedication, the HALIKU Team has carried out a series of activities to provide education to the community including students, as well as government, private and religious institutions regarding the symptoms of breast cancer, risk factors that can cause the spread of cancer, and provide prevention education through self-detection. In every activity, HALIKU also appeals to the public to immediately check themselves at the nearest health facility if they find symptoms.

Alola Foundation Executive Director, Maria Guterres expressed her deep appreciation to the Institute of Business (IOB) which participated in celebrating World Cancer Day with HALIKU and KNKSTL. Through her representative, IOB Vice Rector III – Student Affairs, Mrs. Ludovina Maria Vitor, L.Ed also expressed her gratitude to HALIKU and KNKSTL who had conducted socialization about women’s cancer to students who were continuing their education at IOB – Dili. Mrs. Ludovina Maria Vitor, L.Ed, Vice Rector III said that cancer is very dangerous for human life and students need to get information on how to prevent it.

“I want to remind you that this disease is very dangerous so the information that we will hear here is very important to listen to carefully in order to know how to prevent this dangerous disease, for that I ask the participants to focus and listen to the explanations from the speakers,” explained the Vice Rector III during the discussion.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the uncontrolled growth and division of cells and can attack all parts of the body. Until now, the main cause of this disease is not known, but there are many important factors that influence the cause of cancer, such as genetic factors, environment (radiation, chronic infections, pollution), hormonal imbalance problems, smoking, lack of exercise, stress, and unhealthy diet.

Doctor Joao Teodosio Amaral, Medical Oncologist, Guido Valadares National Hospital (HNGV) and Chair of the Timor-Leste National Breast Cancer Commission in his presentation entitled Prevention and Treatment of Breast Cancer explained that based on the data collected, breast cancer in Timor-Leste mostly attacks young women aged between 18 and 40 years.

 “Patients who consult with us at the national hospital are mostly young, aged 18 to 40 years old and often come with advanced cancer conditions,” explained Dr. Joao Teodosio Amaral, Medical Oncologist.

After the presentation on breast cancer, the World Cancer Day commemoration event attended by more than 50 participants continued with a presentation on cervical cancer facilitated by Dr. Agueda Li Cruz, SPOG.

Cancer prevention is an important thing that requires consensus from the entire community in its implementation by maintaining a healthy lifestyle in various daily activities, by consuming healthy foods, exercising regularly, and conducting early detection which is the key to saving our lives from the dangers of this disease. The HALIKU and KNKSTL teams hope that the information shared at IOB-Dili and on various occasions will continue to be shared with people and communities in need.