8DiscoverNEWSA group of PAPRSB Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) students carried out a community outreach project in Mukim Kiudang, Tutong District on 13 September 2013. The aim of the project was to increase the awareness of breast cancer among village residents and to train women to perform self-examination of breasts aimed to detect breast lumps that could be an early sign of cancer. With the full cooperation and leadership of the village leaders and The Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group, the project ran smoothly. The event was officiated by the guest of honour, Yang Mulia Hj Abdul Rahim Abdul Yakin, Penghulu of Mukim Kiudang, Tutong. It started with group discussions about breast cancer amongst the participants, where each discussion group was made up of eight to 10 local women from the villages and facilitated by two UBD students. The 45-minute discussion generated the knowledge they had about breast cancer and addressed their misconceptions and uncertainties about the disease. These discussion points were brought to the attention of the invited speaker, Dr Hj Muhammad Syafiq Abdullah, consultant oncologist from the Palliative Care Unit, RIPAS Hospital, who gave an interactive lecture about breast cancer and related issues. During his lecture, which was well-received by all participants, questions and uncertainties raised by the groups were discussed and clarified.Dr Hj Syafiq’s lecture was followed by an interactive talk delivered by the 2nd invited speaker, Datin Hjh Sahaidah Awg Taib, Head of the Breast Cancer Support Group, who highlighted the importance of performing self-breast examination. Datin Hjh Sahaidah and her team led the final activity of the event, which was to train women how to perform breast self-examinations using breast models with the assistance of the students of PAPRSB IHS. Breast Cancer Awareness Community Outreach Project in Mukim Kiudang, Tutong District
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