Pink and Undecided: stand up for pink campaign

Event Report : Miracle's Stand Up for Pink Campaign

Haiiiii :D!

Last week was a very eventful week for me, i had three events back to back to attend-which is quite something for Surabaya bloggers haha (this ain't Jakarta, peeps!) and one of them is Miracle's Stand Up for Pink Campaign.

Sabrina, Kathy, lovely Jennie from Miracle and moi

As usual, i got an invitation for this event from Jennie

This is not your average beauty event where you learn stuffs about how to prettify yourself or whatever but it's actually more important because it aims to educate and create awareness for breast cancer. I had another event to attend to later in the afternoon, but since the timeline kinda connect, i decided that i should attend this important event and help spread the word to my readers.

Since it was held on a weekday during working hour, i scrambled around finding other bloggers that could attend it with me (coz you know... bloggers prefer to flock together :p), thankfully both Sabrina and Kathy could-so yay! I was a running a teeny tiny late (by late i mean 10 minutes, not 30-60 like in #Undecided's book, we run on a different timeline *LOL*) and when i arrived at Miracle Clinic's Thamrin's branch, i became even more flustered because it looked kinda deserted without any signs of event being held there!

I quickly opened my e-mail to go through the invite again (i was very worried that i might be in the wrong place, what if it was in another branch?? LOL) and as soon as i made sure that it was the right location, i asked the staff for direction-and a staff actually kind enough to escort me to the Multifunction Hall on the 3rd floor, i guess i looked kinda lost! The mbak actually asked me where i came from and when i told her that i am a blogger, she was like "Blog...ger..? What's that?" LOL ^^, told ya the term is not very familiar for most people in Surabaya (or even Indonesia in general) yet! I gave her a little bit of explanation, i hope she'd help spread the knowledge so other staffs wouldn't be too baffled the next time they hear the word "blogger"!

When i finally arrived at the third floor, as usual, i was warmly welcomed by Jennie and after registering i stepped into the Multifunction hall-it was already very packed!

I think on normal days this room is used as a gym? I saw some gym equipments being shoved to the corners :D.

Majority of the attendance obliged to the Pink dress code, so that's awesome!

Sabrina and Kathy were already there and they saved a place for me at the back. They also kindly saved some snacks for me because the break time was placed on the front of the event. Jennie asked us to move to the front (which i actually prefer because it'll be easier for me to snap pictures especially since i only got my Marshmallow that cannot be zoomed in!) and we were going to after we finished eating (yes, we're stuffing ourselves silly because it was early-especially for bloggers time frame-and we didn't have time to have breakfast beforehand!) but unfortunately when we were ready to move we realized that there were only two seats left at the front >.<!

It's not possible to just abandon one of us where there were only three of us! So in the end we stick to the back and i tried my best to capture the presentations, even reverting to my Blackberry camera (coz at least it zooms in!) for the slides-so i apologize for the slides' pictures quality in advance!

We were given fliers for Breast Cancer Support Group and an Oncology hospital upon arrival

I was dressed head to toe in Pink, of course..

Selca before the event started, notice that even our makeups are dominated by pinks :D. Gotta love Kathy and her tendency to go all out on dress codes, i feel less alone in my quirkiness with her!

With Kathy and Sabrina. Marshmallow is definitely awesome for selcas... Was Kathy giving us a sparrow face there? It after all is the new duck face!

Then the event finally started

The presentation was conducted by Dr. Wiwien R. Pratiwi Sp. B (Boy, am i glad i managed to write her name down :D!) who gave us a very detailed basic knowlegde about breast cancer and the best way to beat it. She started by asking us if we knew who started the pink ribbon as the symbol of breast cancer awareness and the answer is Estee Lauder!

1 in 8 US women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, which is a very chilling fact-but there is a key to beat this : with early detection the survival rate increase up to whopping 98%! That's why it's crucial to constantly screen yourself! In developed countries such as USA and Australia, every women (after they reach a certain age) would be scheduled for a (mandatory) screening every year (which shouldn't be skipped because in some cases women skipped a year and suddenly found a developing cancer the next year!) while sadly in Indonesia, health care is not that developed yet so it's up to us, Indonesian women, to screen ourselves to prevent getting in a position of having an already advanced case

It looks really painful -___- but it's gotta be done!

Some of the categories that would lump you in the "at risk" group : even just being a female already makes you at risk! (males can have breast cancer too, FYI!)

It can strike at any age

These points could increase your risk, i can ticked most off (hey, i am not skinny but i am def not overweight, still in a very healthy weight category-mind you! *sensitive*. I also drink alcohol but very very very infrequently, i've been pregnant and i don't smoke. I however, have a great grandma who had breast cancer! My mum had a scare with breast cancer that freaked the whole family off last year, but thank God it was nothing!)

The key is definitely screening! Start from personal screening at home (every month, 7 days after menstruating), next step would be to go for USG at the doctor (if you're above the age of 25 or with doctor's suggestion), the mammography for women above the age of 35 or with doctor's suggestion

There are also several misconceptions when it comes to breast cancer :

Lump is DEFINITELY not always a cancer! I have personal experience with this (or my mum did)

You can develop cancer while breastfeeding

Just because you're young doesn't mean that lump you found is not cancer!

Not all cancer patients has history of cancer in their families!

Just because there is no sign and symptom doesn't mean you're cancer free! Always be aware of your own body and get an annual check up!

There are, however, a few tell-tale signs that there might be something wrong with your breast (s) if : your breasts suddenly become severely asymmetric, your breasts won't move in synchronization when you lift your hands up, there is severe skin changes (sometimes to a point that one nipple might get inverted), nipple changes and non-healing wounds (that doesn't even hurt!)

The MC then open the question and answer session :

A rare male audience, i had to snap a pic when he asked a question! He asked why males can be at risk of breast cancer when they do not have mammary glands, which Dr. Wiwien immediately correct : they DO have mammary glands, it's just that they never developed!

Then it was continued with a testimony from a breast cancer survivor :

She went to tell her story from the first time she discover that she had a breast cancer, the treatments (including surgery and chemotherapy, even dabbling into alternative treatments).

With her family during her cancer days, after her husband helped her shaved whatever hair she had remained on her head (now she already has a fresh, long and thick head of black hair again!)

She is a true brave testament about how even if you're sentenced with cancer, it's not the end of the world. With early detection, you have a very high rate of beating cancer, and even during treatments she proved to us that she could still enjoy life, went on trips with her family and be happy.

Marking the official start of the Stand Up for Pink campaign with putting on a pink ribbon brooch

It was a truly educational seminar and one that every woman should learn about. Thank you Miracle for having me (and as usual, Jennie for inviting me), and for caring-enough to support such a worthy cause!