Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Every year in October, MEDICOS joins the worldwide movement to help increase awareness and support for the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
Every box of MEDICOS Pink Ribbon mask you purchase will go towards supporting the cause, and as you wear them throughout the month, you help by becoming a bearer of hope and light in your community.
Tag us on your photos on Facebook and Instagram when you wear our limited edition Pink Ribbon mask to get featured!
It is a cause worth fighting for
Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the most common cause of death from cancer in women worldwide, Malaysian women included. About one in 19 women in this country are at risk to develop breast cancer during her lifetime.
Precious lives are at risk
Breast cancer is the fourth biggest cause of death among females in Malaysia. The survival rate for Breast Cancer – Stage 1 is close to 90%, while Stage 4 is below 25%, this further highlights the need for regular screening and early detection.
Early detection saves lives
Finding breast cancer early and getting treatment are the most important strategies to prevent deaths from breast cancer. Breast cancer that’s found early, when it’s small and has not spread, is easier to treat successfully. Breast cancer is sometimes found after symptoms appear, but many women with breast cancer have no symptoms. This is why regular breast cancer screening is so important.
We need to be more breast-aware
In high-income countries, 9 out of 10 breast cancer patients survive 10 years. The national average in Malaysia for the same stats? 5 out of 10. This means we have fewer women with breast cancer, but we have more deaths. The reason for this poor outcome lies in late detection and poor or delayed access to treatment, things that are potentially preventable.
Raise awareness
In the year 2020, we realised how as a global community, our lives are so entwined together; that every wise decision and even the smallest action we take can protect our family, friends, and members of our beloved community.
The same holds true when it comes to breast cancer.
Wearing hope as a shield
This year, we partnered with our homegrown, award-winning artist, Dr. Caryn Koh to design a surgical mask that embodies the hope & sense of community in these challenging times.
The MEDICOS Pink Ribbon Sub Micron Surgical Face Mask is a limited-production model designed to be an instrument for increasing attention and awareness about breast cancer.
It is our desire that as you wear this mask, you become a bearer of hope and light in your community and let your loved ones know that they are never alone.
Read more about our Pink Ribbon Surgical Face Masks here
Sharing real-life stories
Nothing moves the heart quite like real-life stories. This is why we produced a series of documentaries featuring the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Candy Girls Support Group – a group of breast cancer survivors using dance as a form of therapy and support.
We hope that their stories will inspire people to be a source of hope and community to their friends and families. Through the Candy Girls’ stories, we want to break the sense of loneliness, taboo and stigma surrounding breast cancer and discussing breast cancer openly.
Watch ‘The Candy Girls’ series on our YouTube channel
Raising funds for the cause
Part of all proceeds of the sale of the Pink Ribbon mask will go towards supporting the UMMC Breast Cancer Resource Centre, and UMMC Candy Girls Support Group.
The MEDICOS Pink Ribbon mask
70% more breathable
than traditional meltblown filters
3x more evenly saturated
with filtration-enhancing electret charge
Educate yourself & educate others
Read about it, learn about it and talk about it openly. In doing so, you break the taboo and negative stereotypes surrounding cancer and help other people make informed choices about their bodies and health.
Read more about breast cancer here
Practice breast self-examination
Examine your breast regularly by Breast Self Examination (BSE). No one knows your body better than you. That’s why it’s so important to become familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel. The more aware you are, the easier it is to identify changes you see or feel in your breasts. A routine BSE, which includes looking at and touching your breasts, can help you achieve this.
Get your pink on!
October is the time to flaunt your pink ribbons, pink shirts and pink masks and help out this most quintessential cause. Team up with your friends or organise a corporate event to help boost awareness and raise funds, to better understand the nature of this disease and improve the quality of life.
Shop for a MEDICOS Pink Ribbon Surgical Face Mask here
Share hope & encouragement
Let your friends, families and loved ones know that they are not alone in this journey. We are living in no ordinary times and it calls for extraordinary care and love to help uplift the people closest to us through life’s toughest moments.
Let them know that hope is truly just around the corner.