MAKNA Young Cancer Survivor Scholarship

Saya menerima bantuan berbentuk biasiswa dari MAKNA di bawah program “Young Cancer Survivor Scholarship”. Setelah membuat permohonan untuk bantuan kewangan untuk meneruskan pengajian di universiti, MAKNA telah menganugerahkan biasiswa kepada saya berdasarkan criteria yang ditetapkan..

Program ini diasaskan oleh MAKNA untuk menyokong dan membantu bekas pesakit kanser yang layak menyambung pelajaran di peringkat universiti tetapi menghadapi cabaran cabaran dari segi kewangan atau kesulitan dalam biasiswa.

Bantuan yang disalur telah menangung kos pengajian saya di universiti dari segi yuran pengajian dan juga kos sara hidup saya di universiti dari tahap diploma hingga ijazah, iaitu pada tahun 2009 hingga 2014.

Dengan bantuan yang diberikan oleh MAKNA, ia sedikit sebanyak dapat membantu saya untuk terus belajar dan mengurangkan bebanan yang ditanggung oleh keluarga saya untuk menampung kos pengajian saya. Bantuan yang saya terima telah menjadi perangsang kepada saya untuk mendapat keputusan terbaik dalam peperiksaan untuk setiap semester dan menjadi sumber inspirasi untuk mengejar cita-cita saya.

Bantuan yang diberikan sebenarnya banyak membantu saya menampung membiayai perbelanjaan untuk melengkapkan pengajian saya untuk setiap semester. Sepanjang pengajian saya di universiti, ia menyedarkan saya bahawa setiap kejadian yang berlaku ada hikmah di sebaliknya yang hanya disampaikan melalui perlambangan dan tidak secara terangterangan. Segala jasa baik yang diberikan oleh MAKNA amatlah saya hargai dan berharap MAKNA dapat terus maju, berjaya dan membantu golongan yang memerlukan.

* Razif kini bekerja di MAKNA sebagai Eksekutif Bahagian Kewangan.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

‘MAKNA Young Cancer Survivor Scholarship’

I received a scholarship from MAKNA in the form of the ‘Young Cancer Survivor Scholarship’ to pursue my university education. After putting in my application, I was thrilled to learn that MAKNA had awarded me the scholarship as my application had successfully met all the requirements for the programme, including being a cancer survivor.

The programme was initiated by MAKNA to encourage and support young, capable cancer survivors who were facing financial hardship - to further their education at university. It was challenging to apply for scholarships elsewhere with my medical history. The scholarship I received helped bear the cost of my tuition and living expenses, from diploma to degree between 2009 and 2014.

The assistance I received from MAKNA enabled me to continue studying and lessened the burden on my family in terms of education costs. This scholarship gave me the drive to achieve the best results possible in my exams each semester and became a source of inspiration to realise my dreams. I wanted to make every cent that had been given to me, count.

In truth, the scholarship really helped me sustain myself throughout the course of my education. Over the duration of my studies, I have come to realise that everything that happens in life, for better or worse, is a blessing in disguise. For everything that MAKNA has done for me, I feel so very grateful. I wish for MAKNA to keep progressing and succeeding in giving underprivileged cancer patients and survivors like me, a shot at a meaningful life.

*Razif is currently employed as an executive in the Finance department of MAKNA.

JOM BOTAK 2016 by Taylor's University at Go Carnival

We are 5 days away from Jom Botak 2016 and MAKNA is the proud beneficiary of this incredible campaign! Join us at Taylor’s University, at our Go Carnival on 15 June 2016 (10 am - 6 pm, outside the Student Life Centre) and Go Concert (7.30 pm - 9.30 pm, at LT21 and LT22). Buy your RM20 Hair-mazing ticket at our booth outside the Student Life Centre or register for the Go Carnival at http://bit.ly/JBgocarnival and/or the Go Concert at http://bit.ly/JBgoconcert.

Your Hair-mazing ticket will entitle you to Go Snip , Go Trendy, Go Purple (washable colour, don’t worry!), attend talks and learn about cancer and healthcare, play games and win lots of prizes e.g. GSC movie tickets, Starbucks vouchers and pedometers! Show your HAIR-MAZING support and INSPIRE others to fight another day! For more info, visithttp://www.jombotak2016.com or FB :https://www.facebook.com/jombotak2016

What else? Come meet our HAIR-MAZING celebrity performers and Taylor’s very own SHINING talents. Get ready for an Awesome, Mind-Blowing, Hair-raising, Heart-pumping, Feet-thumping Good Time! Your ticket entitles you to a Lucky Draw!

Buy your RM20 Go Concert ticket at http://bit.ly/JBgoconcert (ticket price inclusive of 1 dinner per pax per ticket)
For more info on our performers and our social media contest, Like us on FB : https://www.facebook.com/jombotak2016

What else? Come meet our HAIR-MAZING celebrity performers and Taylor’s very own SHINING talents. Get ready for an Awesome, Mind-Blowing, Hair-raising, Heart-pumping, Feet-thumping Good Time! Your ticket entitles you to a Lucky Draw!

Buy your RM20 Go Concert ticket athttp://bit.ly/JBgoconcert (ticket price inclusive of 1 dinner per pax per ticket)

For more info on our performers and our social media contest, Like us on FB :https://www.facebook.com/jombotak2016

Your Hair-mazing ticket will entitle you to Go Snip , Go Trendy, Go Purple (washable colour, don’t worry!), attend talks and learn about cancer and healthcare, play games and win lots of prizes e.g. GSC movie tickets, Starbucks vouchers and pedometers! Show your HAIR-MAZING support and INSPIRE others to fight another day! For more info, visit http://www.jombotak2016.com/ or FB :https://www.facebook.com/jombotak2016

Bursary Assistance Programme - Helping the Poor Fight Cancer

he MAKNA Bursary Assistance Programme provides support to financially-challenged patients in the form of transport allowance, medical equipment, and ancillary items to enable them to cope with cancer.

To ensure smooth implementation of this programme, MAKNA collaborates with the Medical Social Work Department available at 92 government hospitals across Malaysia.

The officers at these centres screen applications and gather relevant information from cancer patients at their respective hospitals. Once gathered, patient documentation is forwarded to MAKNA for assessment. If patients meet the set criteria for eligibility, they will be incorporated into the Bursary Assistance Programme.

Financial support offered through the Bursary Assistance Programme goes towards provisions such as non-formulary drugs, liquid food, diapers, medical equipment such as crutches, chemo ports, ripple mattresses, wheelchairs, prostheses, colostomy/urostomy bags, surgical items like staples, oxygen concentrators, metallic stents, suction machines, travel allowance to access treatment at hospitals and so on.

Click here to view a flowchart of the application process -
How a Patient Can Apply for Assistance from MAKNA and the types of assistance we offer.

#MAKNAcancer #CANCER

A Mother’s Love is Beyond Measure

The Home Visit Team recently travelled to Perak to visit patients on bursary assistance with MAKNA. This May, they share with us the story of a steadfast single mother, unconditional love and the strength of a family that goes above and beyond to fight for their loved one diagnosed with leukemia.

Aina Khadeeja Roslan, 12 year old who is diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia since 2015.

Aina (middle) with her sisters who were willing to donate their bone marrow just to see their sister healthy and able to spend time with them.

 

Kasih Ibu Tiada Ganti

Menyusuri perkampungan Parit Ali Kalang yang terletak di Bagan Serai, Perak telah mempertemukan kami dengan seorang ibu tunggal yang begitu cekal hatinya dalam membesarkan anak-anak. Norfazilah Yaakob berusia 42 tahun merupakan ibu kepada tujuh orang cahaya mata berusia antara 18 hingga 12 tahun yang mana kesemuanya masih lagi dalam alam persekolahan.

Berbekalkan kudrat wanitanya beliau sebelum ini bekerja sebagai pembantu kedai makan dengan memperoleh pendapatan yang tidak menentu terpaksa berhenti bekerja setelah salah seorang puteri kembarnya (triplets) iaitu Aina Khadeeja Roslan disahkan menghidap Chronic Myeloid Leukemia semenjak Februari 2015 yang lalu. Keadaan ini menuntut beliau untuk berulang alik ke Hospital Kuala Lumpur setiap bulan bagi memastikan anaknya menerima rawatan sepertimana yang disyorkan oleh Pegawai Perubatan. Selain HKL, Khadeeja juga perlu mendapatkan rawatan di Hospital Pulau Pinang.

Bagi adik-beradik yang lain, mereka seolah-olah telah memahami rutin ibu dan adiknya untuk berulang-alik ke hospital maka mereka akan membantu dan menjaga antara satu sama lain sewaktu ketiadaan ibunya.

Pengalaman ibunya menceritakan detik Khadeeja untuk melakukan transplant pada Julai 2015 yang lalu, kesemua adik-beradiknya beria untuk mendermakannya bagi memastikan adik mereka kembali sihat seperti sedia kala. Ternyata hubungan yang terjalin antara mereka adik-beradik begitu erat dan sanggup berkorban untuk adik tersayang mereka.

Tambah ibunya lagi beliau dan Khadeeja juga pernah melalui detik sukar yang mana sewaktu dalam perjalanan ke Hospital Pulau Pinang dengan menaiki motosikal mereka berdua telah terlibat dalam kemalangan. Mujurlah kecederaan yang dialami tidak begitu serius. Namun selepas daripada kejadian tersebut beliau serik untuk ke hospital lagi dengan menunggang motosikal.

Dengan bekerja sebagai pembuat kuih-muih, Norfazilah gigih dalam membesarkan tujuh orang cahaya matanya. Selain itu beliau juga merupakan penerima bantuan kewangan daripada Jabatan Kebajikan Masyrakat. Nasib keluarga ini beruntung apabila tutut mendapat sokongan yang baik daripada nenek dan juga ibu saudaranya yang tinggal berdekatan dengan kediaman mereka.

Ibu adalah wanita yang paling berjasa dalam kehidupan seorang anak. Amat besar kasih sayang dan pengorbanan ibu kepada anak-anaknya.

English Translation

A Mother’s Love is Beyond Measure

Meandering through the scenic village of Perkampungan Parit Ali Kalang in Bagan Serai, Perak, we drove to visit a single mother fighting to give her children a future against all odds. Armed with her maternal instincts, Norfazilah Yaakob, 42, is raising seven school-going children aged between 12 and 18, all on her own.

She used to help out at a small food shop where she earned an irregular salary but had to quit her job to look after one of her triplets, Aina Khadeeja Roslan, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in February 2015. This has made it necessary for her to travel back and forth to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) every month to ensure her daughter received the treatment prescribed by her physician. Besides HKL, Khadeeja and her mother also travel to the Penang Hospital (HPP).

The siblings seemed to understand their mother’s and sister’s routine visits to hospital. They looked after themselves and each other in the absence of their mother. Indeed, their circumstances have made them more self-reliant and mature in handling matters, without depending on her.

The mother was sharing a moving moment in July 2015 when Khadeeja needed to undergo a bone marrow transplant. All of her siblings were keen to volunteer to donate their bone marrow just to see their sister healthy and back to normal again. This demonstrated the closeness, unconditional love and self-sacrifice the siblings had for their beloved sister. The mother was very pleased with the support given by all her children. Some of them even wept when they could not volunteer their bone marrow due to incompatibility with Khadeeja.

Khadeeja’s mother also shared a trying time when they met with an accident on their way to Hospital Pulau Pinang by motorcycle. Fortunately, their injuries were minimal but following the incident, Norfazilah has been wary about travelling to the hospital on motorcycle.

Apart from receiving assistance from MAKNA to help with Khadeeja’s medical costs, Norfazilah makes kuih (traditional cakes) for sale to raise her children. The family also receives assistance from the Welfare Department and support from their grandmother and aunt who live close by.

Mothers are known to be the pillars of strength and most devoted advocates to their children. How great the love and sacrifice of this mother for her children!

Baby’s Journey Fighting #Cancer Low Yong Xuan, Bilateral Wilm’s Tumour - Kidney Cancer Survivor

When #MAKNAcancer first met Low Yong Xuan or “Baby”, as she is affectionately known, in 2008, she was a bubbly, active 3-year-old girl who loved nothing more than watching her favourite Tom and Jerry cartoon, and playing with friends at the nursery. 

Anyone who looked at her cheerful disposition would not have guessed that Baby’s world wasn’t always filled with the simple joys of childhood. At just 11 months old, Baby was diagnosed with Bilateral Wilm’s Tumour, a cancer found in the kidney that could spread to the lungs, liver or nearby lymph nodes, and is common in children younger than 5 years of age.

Undoubtedly, this was an extremely trying period for her father, a lorry driver, and her mother, a piano teacher. Worry for Baby’s condition and whether their insufficient income would go the distance to fund her treatment took a heavy toll on them. Fortunately, with a little help from MAKNA, Baby was able to keep going for treatment and her condition improved. Now her father is working full time to support the family while her mother is a full time house wife looking after 3 children at home.

It has been a few years since she completed her chemotherapy and now, though she still goes for follow ups every half year, 8-year-old Baby is leading a cancer-free life. She has outgrown her love of cartoons and has developed a new interest in reading. But other than that, just like her 3-year-old self, Baby is a jovial girl and quick to smile, if a tad shy.

“Baby” is one of the thousands of patients who has benefited from your contribution and kindness. Thank you for supporting MAKNA and the many underprivileged cancer patients in Malaysia.

MAKNA Cancer Research Award 2015

MAKNA embarked on cancer research in 2001 and has since been active in helping to advance cancer research in Malaysia. MAKNA collaborates with the country’s cancer researchers and physicians to conduct quality research that will generate significant findings towards contributing to new knowledge in combating cancer. One of MAKNA’s research-related programs is the MAKNA Cancer Research Award that was launched in 2001.

This is an annual award by MAKNA to encourage and recognise ground-breaking research and development by Malaysian cancer researchers. In this way, MAKNA hopes to advance knowledge that will help cancer patients and enable discovery of potential cures for the disease.

Award recipients are selected by a distinguished panel, headed by Professor Datin Paduka Dr Khatijah Mohd Yusoff FASc, who is both the Malaysian Academy of Sciences Fellow and Dean at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia alongside other prominent experts and medical practitioners in the fields of Hematology and Oncology among ASM Fellows.

The MAKNA Cancer Research Award 2015 was recently awarded to three promising young scientists to support them in their research in their respective areas. They were selected from the largest applicant pool for the Award since 2001, with 51 applications in 2015.

The three recipients of the MAKNA Cancer Research Award 2015 were:
• Dr Chua Eng Wee of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, awarded RM30,000 for his research on Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms and cisplatin responsiveness
• Dr Nethia Mohana Kumaran of Universiti Sains Malaysia, who received RM30,000 in research funding to determine the regulation of STAT3 by Human Papillomavirus strain 16 and 18 in cervical cancer cell lines using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, and
• Dr Nor Fazila Binti Che Mat of Universiti Sains Malaysia, who was presented with RM29,835 towards her research on the therapeutic potential of Oroxylum indicum (beko) leaves extract against E6 and E7 oncogenes expression in human cervical cancer cells.

All three recipients received their accolades at an award ceremony, presented by MAKNA Executive Committee member and Vice Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Prof Datin Paduka Dr Aini Ideris who was accompanied by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia President, YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali FASc and MAKNA General Manager, Farahida Mohd Farid. At the event, award recipients shared some of their research findings and their main objectives for doing research in their chosen topics.

Focusing on research is in line with MAKNA’s mission to mobilise all resources to provide curative, preventative, research and support services to cancer patients and families, high-risk groups and the general public.

Besides the MAKNA Cancer Research Award, MAKNA’s research-related endeavors include collaboration with local universities and research institutes in Malaysia to further knowledge in the field. Cancer research is one area of MAKNA’s numerous and diversified projects geared towards helping cancer patients across the country.

‪#‎MAKNAcancer‬ ‪#‎Cancer‬

MAKNA Cancer Research Award 2016
(from left) MAKNA General Manager Farahida Mohd Farid, MAKNA Cancer Research Award Recipients Dr Chua Eng Wee, Dr Nethia Mohana Kumaran, Dr Nor Fazila Che Mat, MAKNA Executive Board Member Professor Datin Paduka Dr Aini Ideris, Akademi Sains Malaysia (ASM) President, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali

MAKNA Cancer Research Award 2016
Award recipients receiving their certificates and mock cheques from MAKNA and ASM delegates

MAKNA Home Visit – Eyes and Ears of MAKNA

MAKNA’s Home Visit team is entrusted with the enormous responsibility of following up on all patients on MAKNA’s bursary assistance program. Since it was established, MAKNA has supported over 450,000 cases of cancer patients across the country, and makes it a priority to visit patients in all states including East Malaysia.

The team’s purpose is to ensure patient well-being; to observe their living conditions and most importantly; to develop a better understanding of their lives and backgrounds through direct interaction.

Team members of the Home Visit team are on the road between 10 to 15 days a month, leaving the comfort of their own homes and families to reach out to patients. They traverse all terrains, including rural areas with no proper signage or GPS navigation, at times having to drive along cliffs, take boats and walk miles in secluded areas just to visit patients.

While adventure is all in a day’s work for the team, they are mainly motivated by their best intentions for the patients in their care. It takes a lot out of a person to do what they do and see what they see on a daily basis. The emotional toll can weigh heavily if the Home Visit team is not adequately prepared for the job.

Thanks to their immense contribution, MAKNA is able to ensure that bursary funds are being channeled to the right people and that patient needs are met. The team serves as the eyes and ears of our donors and the public - watching, listening and reporting on how all gifts and donations, no matter how small, bring hope and meaning to patients’ lives.‪#‎MAKNAcancer‬ ‪#‎Cancer‬ ‪#‎HomeVisit‬