Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation and Beacon Hospital Collaborates to Assist Breast Cancer Patients with Financial Problems

Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation (PRWF) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Beacon Hospital on a Patient Assistance Programme (PAP), under the hospital’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. This Patient Assistance Program (PAP) aims to assist breast cancer patients who are facing financial constraint in obtaining timely treatment that could otherwise compromise their treatment outcome and henceforth their survivorship.

As a private hospital that leads the way in cancer care, Beacon Hospital has always been a pioneer in CSR initiatives focusing on making quality cancer care accessible for patients from all walks of life. This is made possible via the various welfare programmes offered by the hospital through its CSR initiatives. One such programme is the Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Welfare Fund; whereby eligible patients only pay a mere 10% of the cost to undergo chemotherapy treatment at the hospital. First introduced in the year 2018, this programme has thus far benefited hundreds of breast cancer patients who face financial constraint by providing them with the financial support needed so that they could seek the necessary treatments, who would have otherwise given up hope as they could not afford it. Similarly, the hospital also offers financial aid for patients to pursue other treatment modalities such as radiotherapy, targeted therapy, surgical procedures, and many more.

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Riding on the success of this meaningful project, Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation is proud to be able to join force with Beacon Hospital in reaching out to the poor and underprivileged breast cancer patients. Under this new collaboration, the cost of treatment for eligible breast cancer patients will be fully sponsored by Beacon Hospital and Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation. We aim to recruit 100 newly diagnosed, early-stage breast cancer patients to benefit from this programme. Under this programme, eligible patients will be receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment free of charge rather than having to pay RM20,000 – RM30,000 (for chemotherapy) and RM10,000 – RM15,000 (for radiotherapy) under normal circumstances.

Patient Assistance Programme (PAP) aims to help alleviate the financial burden faced by patients, considering the fact that about 51% of Malaysian cancer patients suffer from financial catastrophe 12 months after they have been diagnosed, while 39% end up not being able to pay for their follow-up medications thereafter.

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Statistics have shown that approximately 1 in 19 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Breast cancer, if detected early, can be cured and the five-year survival rate of Stages 1 and 2 breast cancer patients is close to 100 per cent, which makes this mission of early diagnosis and treatment even more pivotal.

Cancer treatment should be administered in a timely manner and made more accessible and affordable. When cancer patients default treatment, because they cannot afford it or live in debt after treatment, their livelihood and their family’s will be severely affected causing stress which negatively impacts their health.

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To further improve Patient’s quality of life, the Foundation is also providing a Free External Breast Prosthesis and Prosthesis Bra worth RM 330 and Cash Donation of RM 200 each to 100 newly diagnosed patients, especially those living in the rural areas.

Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation, a charitable foundation, plays a pivotal role in educating women on the importance of regular breast screening, early detection of breast cancer whilst supporting breast cancer patients and survivors as well as caregivers.

The Foundation has been reaching out by way of corporate and public lectures and seminars nationwide to increase awareness in three main local languages in Malaysia. We have also conducted multiple breast care workshops for survivors since 2009 to-date, organised three major Breast Cancer Support and Therapy Conferences in 2012, 2015 and 2018 for breast cancer survivors and medical practitioners and successfully conducted various activities through virtual platforms in the last 2 years due to COVID-19 pandemic.

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