I’ve been meaning to blog about this for a long time,
and had it on my list of Things To Blog About since 2 years ago.
It’s about time i did.
On a few occasions while chatting to various girlfriends,
the topic ofhealth, taking annual blood tests, and Pap smears came up.
Out of all these girls i spoke to,
only half of them went for these check ups.
After they heard all our (the ones who went) reasons on why you HAVE and MUST go for them,
there were 2 reactions to it:
1. They said they’d go, and did.
2. They said they’d go, but never did.
To be honest, i’m kinda appalled… (and i really don’t want to be like your mother nagging you about something you as an adult should make a mature decision to do!)
I know you may feel shy on having to spread your legs for a gynae,
or you may say it’s expensive.
Or you’re just lazy.
But this is your health we’re talking about.
Not something where you can turn back time and WISH you went for a check up –
so you could have prevented an infection (you didn’t even know you have) from getting worse,
or some imbalance in abnormal cells in your vajayjay (that prove as an early detection tool against cervical cancer).
Cervical canceris the second most common cancer in women (after breast cancer)
Here are some figures for you to understand how widespread the disease is:
Globally,
500,000 cervical cancer cases are reported annually 80% or more of these cases are from developing countries 270,000 deaths occur each year from cervical cancer
Every 2 minutes, a woman dies of cervical cancer
In Asia Pacific, 266,000 cervical cancer cases are diagnosed in Asia Pacific 143,000 women from this figure die from this disease 41% of women in developing countries receive necessary treatment to survive Every 4 minutes, a woman dies of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is caused by the HPV virus(amongst other factors like smoking, and sexual habits)
It’s estimated that 50-80%of women will acquire a genital HPV infection in their lifetime,
with 50% of those infections potentially cancer-causing.
Now, there are over 100 types of the HPV virus.
Out of these 100, 15 of them cause cancer.
And out of these 15, there are 2 particular ones (HPV 16 and 18) that cause up to 70% of ALL cervical cancers worldwide.
Good fact: There is a vaccine targeted at HPV 16 & 18, potentially preventing 70% of cervical cancers.
Scary fact: Progression of cervical cancer disease may have no symptoms hence it can remain undetected.
I know i project such a live-fast-and-die-young image,
but i’m also not in denial of preventive measures i can take for my own wellbeing.
I myself have regularly gone for Pap smears for the past 7 years,
and got my cervical cancer vaccination shot last year (i just didn’t blog about it whoops).
A media event was held two weeks ago at twenty.one kitchen + bar,
to launch the Pink Mobile for 2010.
The Pink Mobile is a vehicle that will be making scheduled stops nationwide.
At the Pink Mobile, women are encouraged to complete the Cervical Cancer Risk Questionnaire,
to build awareness and create public involvement.
Dr. Saun speaking to us in all seriousness about NCSM
Quick facts about NCSM:
– established in 1966 to provide education, care and support services for ppl affected by cancer
– financed entirely by voluntary contributions from the public
– is the first cancer-related NGO established in Malaysia
Genevieve Sambhi (herself a survivor of cervical cancer), me, Niki
What You Can Do
1. Get your Pap smears done at least once a year
It doesn’t take long, it assures you everything’s okay down south, and it gives you peace of mind.
2. Enquire about cervical cancer vaccination
Your family doctor will know. Just ask.
Different ages require different vaccinations.
3. Take the Cervical Cancer Risk Questionnaire and forward it to family and friends
Take the Risk Test *here* and RM1 will be donated to NCSM
Email your friends and family to do it, blog about it, tweet about it.
I haven’t been blogging or going out much cos i’ve been quite sick since i got back from Spain.
Caught a bad cough i bet someone on the tour passed to my dad and i.
Rested at home on Saturday night and took my cough med (yay!) before going to sleep,
so i would be all semangat on Sunday to take part in All for the Charity,
a charity flea market organised by Streething and Femmething.
Thanks to Streething for putting me in the Main Room,
which was (dauntingly) filled with all the cool streetwear stuff 0_-
I didn’t take many pictures that day,
was too busy having fun drinking and talking
Huh. Just noticed both boyfriends are Brian.
See why cartoon names are useful to differentiate
MaintainMing aka MingDaBomb
(think gonna just officially change his cartoon name to what he wants la :p)
I don’t think i’ve seen bids go so well at a flea market before..!
All items donated by brands such as Nike and Nooka were going for hundreds of ringgit,
with every cent donated to the charities (noted below at end of post).
I was a bit naughty and abandoned my own stall for a while (tee hee) to join Aps, Jess and RowdyRudy for a drink outside at Terrace Bar.
Rudy has asked Jess and i to be on his team for some hat-making contest for Zouk (where if we win, the prize $ of RM5k goes to a charity of our choice),
and the three of us (mainly Rudy and i) started arguing whose idea was better,
with me declaring i’ll just start my OWN hat-making team cos he didn’t wanna listen to mine,
and both us ended up talking over each other simultaneously like OOC (Out Of Control) 10-year-olds,
till Aps was trying to shush us cos ppl were staring >.<
I adore that love-hate sibling rivalry we have.
At the end of the event, some of the stalls were lowering the prices for certain things as low as RM50 a pair of sneakers.
Crazy.
Everyone just grabbed at stuff!
I myself bought a Lapsap shirt for RM20
So did Jess
I convinced RowdyRudy he needed this shirt from Singapore for RM90 and a watch for RM100
After i puppy-dog-eyed Jess and RowdyRudy into helping me pack up and load my car,
i counted my money.
*cough*
All the money that i made went to:
1. donation/rental fee
2. my alcohol expenditure for the day
HAHA
It’s like i buka kedai for fun (donate $ & feed myself alco -_-)
Well, i did want to get some of those items off me… i have no more space to store them,
and i just want them to go to someone who would use and love them.
I remember one girl trying to decide whether to buy this mirrored bib necklace i sourced,
and i evilly whispered to her: “If you don’t get it after looking at it this much, you’ll just go home and think about it and totally REGRET not buying it. You might as well get it. I got it in Bangkok last month and haven’t seen any shops here selling it yet.”
She ran off to get money and bought it right away.
Anyway, after the whole event and congratulating Chooee on a successful event,
us three (the 2 Js and the double R) went off to have dinner at Bermuda & Onion at Changkat BB.
Food was great (or maybe cos we were that drunk) and i had a brill Sunday in all!
Barcelona was my favourite city in Spain thanks to its plentitude in interesting architecture – modern as well as old,
and the many cobblestoned lanes filled with bustling pubs,
fashion shops (goth, hippie, punk, vintage),
bookstores, and OH! Heaps of things!
I’ll let the pictures do the talking as i was super snapsnaphappy there!
Gorgeous view of the city.
Below was taken outside the stadium (which i found boring dunno why they took us there :p)
Below are some of the many modern buildings i spotted everywhere around me!
All my friends know how i think Crocs are the ugliest cult shoe ever invented.
And i’m outing some of them here cos they’ve all got the same
‘Crocs-are-argly’ lecture and
‘i’m-gonna-throw-them-when-you’re-not-looking’ threat
from me before, due to owning a pair themselves;
like SpankyCammy, TigerJoe, MaryBerry, LaughingLoga, RowdyRudy,
and others i prollie try to forget (that they own Crocs).
So i laughed when i found this image online.
This would so be a postcard from me,
to all of you
