About 100 volunteers distributed around 7,000 apples yesterday to members of the public to mark World Cancer Day, and to spread the message that eating high-fibre foods and exercising regularly could minimise the chances of getting cancer.
This project is the first to be organised under FirstLight Singapore, a two-year fund-raising and public-education effort by the National Cancer Centre and Rosemary Chng & Associates, a group of volunteers who work for various social causes.
The centre's director, Professor Soo Khee Chee, said: 'We want to let the public know that cancer is not a death sentence. The majority of those diagnosed early are very curable.'
So doctors are encouraging people with a higher risk of contracting cancer to be assessed early, allowing them to be monitored and then given preventive or early treatment if the disease should indeed strike.
Such people include those who have many family members with cancer and recovered cancer patients who may be prone to suffering from cancer in other parts of their bodies later on.
For the past two years, the centre has been running a risk evaluation and prevention clinic, where doctors have seen about 85 to 100 such patients each year.
Yesterday, besides apples, the volunteers also gave out pamphlets with the basic facts about cancer and urged people to sign up as regular donors to cancer education and research. As donors, they would need to give about $10 a month.
During this time, they will be kept updated on the latest news about cancer through newsletters and e-mail.
Another 5,000 apples will be given away on Feb 14 in Housing Board estates.
The organisers hope that FirstLight will eventually raise a total of $5 million for the centre's cancer research and education fund.
FirstLight Website : http://www.nccs.com.sg/firstlight/