Minister of Health has officially kicked off its PINKTOBER Campaign 2023. Pinktober is the official breast cancer awareness month for the Samoa Cancer Society.
Minister of Health Valasi Tafito Selesele said during the ceremony this month that the Samoan community, both local and overseas, come together in solidarity with the color PINK towards advocacy, education, awareness, and fundraising activities of the Society.
It is a symbol of support and working together, as is the theme of PINKTOBER 2023 – ‘Together we can make a difference’.
The Samoa Cancer Society has been working tirelessly together with our community in the past 21 years since its establishment; this month is a highlight of its calendar year of awareness campaigns, to promote and reinforce to women the importance of early detection, recognizing the signs and symptoms, seeking medical advice and learning to do breast self-examinations.
According to the Minister, the number of registered cancer patients recorded for the first half of 2023 reveals that more women than men have been diagnosed with cancer, while the highest type of cancer affecting women is breast cancer, as evidenced by data from the Samoa Cancer Society.
The Minister said their objective is to help decrease the prevalence and incidence of breast cancer in Samoa by contributing to and supporting the Ministry’s Health Sector Plan and the government’s Strategy for the Development of Samoa.
He said the goal is for Samoa to be cancer-free, and whilst realistically, this may take a few years to achieve, the Cancer Society, in the meantime, will continue to provide practical support that includes giving access to quality of life, access to mobility equipment, nutritional advice, emotional support, and home visits for patients and families that are living with cancer.
