1st Meeting with Community Leaders of PPR Hiliran Ampang

13 February 2015

The community leaders were invited for the 1st meeting with EMPOWERED, MAKPEM (National Council of Welfare and Social Development Malaysia), and An-Najjah Malaysia to discuss plans for the Colorectal Cancer Campaign in PPR Hiliran Ampang. There were over 20 people present for this meeting on 13 February 2015, including committee members of Persatuan Penduduk PPR Hiliran Ampang and Surau Al-Falah.

Pre-starters of the meeting included delicious nasi lemak and light snacks served at 8.30pm. The matters discussed during this meeting included confirmation of dates, times, venues for each activity of this campaign; confirmation of logistical details and communication materials as well as recruitment of community volunteers.

The fruitful meeting ended at 10.40pm with its objectives achieved through the agenda that was discussed. Led by the committee members of Persatuan Penduduk, EMPOWERED staff had also taken the chance to recce the venues for the campaign right after the meeting.

1st training workshop for International Medical University student volunteers

18 March 2015

The first training workshop conducted for the International Medical University (IMU) student volunteers was carried out on 18th March 2015 at the IMU campus in Bukit Jalil. After the student volunteers have signed in and collected the training materials, the training started at around 6.30pm. There were 44 student volunteers and 2 student leaders who were present for the training workshop.

Mr. Fung Teck Hong, the project head of EMPOWERED was the presenter at the training workshop. It started off with the introduction of EMPOWERED and how our colorectal cancer campaigns are methodically carried out as most of the student volunteers are volunteering in EMPOWERED for the first time.

The purpose of this training session was to train the student volunteers on the objectives and processes of EMPOWERED’s door knock activity. Then, the student volunteers were divided into small groups for a role-playing exercise. Role-play is vital as the practice helps students familiarize themselves with the door knocking process, gain confidence and become fluent with the script in Bahasa Malaysia.

After one and a half hours of taking turns to practice during the role-playing exercise, the session ended with a demonstration by student volunteers who speak Bahasa Malaysia as native language. At the end, the student volunteers were given reminders that the door-knock day is on the 22nd of March 2015. The training workshop ended at around 8.45pm.

1st Door knock exercise at PPR Hiliran Ampang

22 March 2015

The first door knock exercise was carried out on the 22nd March 2015 in PPR Hiliran Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. The 45 student volunteers and student leaders from the International Medical University arrived at 1.30pm. Before the start of the door knock exercise, the student volunteers gathered at Tuition Room at Block C of PPR Hiliran Ampang for a briefing by EMPOWERED’s community development officer, Ms. Rena while Mr. Fung, our project head, was giving a briefing to community volunteers at Bilik Persatuan Penduduk at Block B of PPR Hiliran Ampang.

After collecting volunteer tags, flyers, as well as door knock data spreadsheets which would be used to collect information from the residents during this door knock exercise, 21 teams of student volunteers were led by their block leaders to go to the lift lobby of their respective residential blocks to wait for the community volunteers. There are altogether 3 residential blocks in PPR Hiliran Ampang and each residential block was covered by 7 teams. After community volunteers arrived and being matched to the student volunteers, the door knock exercise began. Each door knock team consisted of 2 student volunteers and 1 community volunteer.

The objectives of this door knock exercise were to educate the residents about the prevalence of colon cancer in Malaysia, to reinforce the message that early detection can save lives and to maximize participation of residents in our upcoming awareness and screening program. During this door knock exercise, 302 doors out of 948 units were not opened as the residents were not around. Among 646 residential units with doors opened, there were 366 residents who were above 50 years old and are qualified to join in our colorectal cancer campaign.

It was around 4.30pm when all teams finished the door knocking exercise and returned their volunteer tags, used door knock data spreadsheets and leftover materials to their respective block leaders. Despite this exercise being a challenging task, the student volunteers had helped EMPOWERED achieved the objectives of this exercise. The community volunteers were also very helpful and their assistance managed to ensure that this exercise was performed in a safe, effective and efficient manner.

2nd Meeting with Community Leaders of PPR Hiliran Ampang

27 March 2015

The community leaders were invited for the 2nd meeting with EMPOWERED to discuss further plans for the Colorectal Cancer Campaign in PPR Hiliran Ampang. There were about 15 attendees for this meeting.

The meeting started around 9pm. Matters of discussion included the following:
i. results from the 1st door knock exercise;
ii. plans for upcoming door knock exercise;
iii. programs, schedules & logistic details for Awareness & Screening Days;
iv. plans for collection of FIT kits from residents;
v. plans for the release of screening results

The meeting was very successful with the cooperation from those who attended it and ended at 10.30pm.

2nd training workshop for International Medical University student volunteers

1 April 2015

EMPOWERED carried out the second training for International Medical University (IMU) student volunteers on the 1st April 2015. This training was attended by the same forty over students who attended the 1st training and participated in the 1st door knock. This training was also attended by two medical officers from Klinik Kesihatan Kampung Pandan who would be offering their supervision during EMPOWERED’s Colorectal Cancer Screening Day.

The purpose of this training session was to train the student volunteers on the objectives and process of EMPOWERED’s 2nd door knock activity as well as duties of registrars and Faecal Immunohistochemical Test (FIT) kit instructors for the Colorectal Cancer Screening Day.

After registration and distribution of training materials, the training started at around 6.30pm with a short lecture on colorectal cancer by our president, Dr. Christina Ng to help student volunteers further understand about this disease. After that, Ms. Rena Lee, community development officer of EMPOWERED, gave a brief run through of the overview of the colorectal cancer project progress and 2nd door knocking plan in PPR Hiliran Ampang, followed by Mr. Fung Teck Hong, our project manager’s presentation on Screening Day process flow.

After being reminded of their roles on the Screening Day, the student volunteers were divided into two main groups: registrars & FIT-kit instructors. During the break out session, Dr. Christina Ng conducted training for the 30 student volunteers to prepare them for the role of registrars during the Screening Day, assisted by 2 student leaders and joined by the medical officers from Klinik Kesihatan. Simultaneously, Mr. Fung was conducting training for the 14 volunteers who would be FIT-kit instructors at a different classroom, assisted by Ms. Rena. Both trainings incorporated the use of tools and role-playing. For the registrars, there was a laptop with connection to the data management system. And for the FIT-kit instructors, they had a sample FIT-kit and modelling clay. These tools will help the student volunteers familiarize themselves with their duties and gain more confidence.

Student volunteers signed out at the different training areas when the training workshop ended at around 9.45 pm with its objectives achieved.

2nd Door knock exercise at PPR Hiliran Ampang

8 April 2015

EMPOWERED carried out the second door knock exercise at PPR Hiliran Ampang on 8th April 2015. The student volunteers arrived at around 7.15 pm and were given out materials for the door knock at Tuition Room, Block C, including the door knock spreadsheets that were previously used for the 1st door knock, flyers for the colorectal cancer campaign as well as door knock scripts.

The objective of this 2nd door knock exercise was to reach out to those targeted residents who were not around during our 1st door knock exercise, so as to educate them about the prevalence of colon cancer in Malaysia, to reinforce the message that early detection can save lives and to maximize participation of residents in our upcoming awareness and screening program.

There are altogether 3 residential blocks in PPR Hiliran Ampang. Each block was covered by 7 volunteer teams which consisted of 2 student volunteers and 1 community volunteer each. The door knock exercise ended around 9.30pm with fruitful results.

During this door knock exercise, our volunteers managed to reach out to additional 101 residential units which doors were not opened previously. Flyers were distributed to every residential unit even if no response was given. Through both door knock exercises, 747 units had been informed of EMPOWERED’s colorectal cancer campaign that would be happening in PPR Hiliran Ampang as well as advocated on the fast facts on colorectal cancer. Among these 747 residential units, there were 466 residents who were above 50 years old and qualified to join our colorectal cancer campaign.

3rd training workshop for International Medical University student volunteers

14 April 2015

EMPOWERED carried out the 3rd training for International Medical University (IMU) student volunteers on the 14th April 2015. Registration of student volunteers started around 6pm and the training began at 6.30pm. There were over 60 student volunteers and student leaders who were present for the training. As with other trainings, handouts were given upon registration of the students.

The purpose of this training session was to train the student volunteers for their roles during the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day which would be held on 19th April 2015. Ms. Rena Lee, community development officer of EMPOWERED gave the basic introduction of EMPOWERED as well as EMPOWERED’s mission and previous colorectal cancer campaign for the benefit of the student volunteers who were volunteering with us for the first time. She also presented to the student volunteers the detailed process flow of the Awareness Day as well as various volunteers’ roles in brief during plenary session.

Student volunteers were then reminded of the important things for the Awareness Day before they were divided into groups for further training by their respective group leaders (EMPOWERED staff/volunteer), assisted by student leaders. The volunteer roles during the Awareness Day include Marquee Ushers, Block Ushers, General Ushers, Registration Attendants, Queue Attendants, as well as 2 unique roles -- Stage Assistant & Forum Assistant, which do not belong to any other groups.

During break out session, student volunteers were introduced by their group leaders on their specific responsibilities/roles/positions throughout Awareness Day, from the time of their arrival at 6.45am till the end of the workshop at 12pm. They were also introduced on the different materials and project collaterals that they would be working with to further familiarize themselves.

Student volunteers signed out at the different training areas when the training workshop ended at 9pm with its objectives achieved.

2015 Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day

19 April 2015

EMPOWERED’S 2015 Colorectal Cancer Awareness Workshop and Launch Event was carried out on the 19th April 2014, graced by the presence of Director of Disease Control Division, Yang Berusaha Dr. Chong Chee Kheong who also officiated the launch event.

A huge marquee with stage, backdrop, sound and lights was set up at the open carpark in front of Block B, PPR Hiliran Ampang, to cater to the 220 participants which included residents aged 50 years and above, community leaders and representatives from EMPOWERED’s partners. Also present were 3 partner cancer survivors who were scheduled to share their testimonials during the Awareness workshop and Media Forum.

There were around 70 student volunteers from IMU that contributed their morning on this day to make our Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day a success. They helped out with registration of participants which started at 8am as well as ushering process throughout the event.

The programs of our Colorectal Cancer Awareness Day included educational talk about colorectal cancer and importance of early detection, demonstration of healthy exercise, and testimonials from EMPOWERED’s previous beneficiaries/cancer survivors. All these programs were specially tailored to raise participants’ awareness of colorectal cancer, to encourage and to inspire them to participate in our upcoming Screening Workshop one week later.

The successful event came to an end past noon. With smiles on their faces and goodie bags or prizes in their arms, the participants left the marquee, filled with the knowledge on early detection from colorectal cancer that could save their lives.

4th training workshop for International Medical University student volunteers

21 April 2015

The 4th student training for International Medical University (IMU) student volunteers was carried out on 21st April 2015. Registration of student volunteers started around 6pm and the training began at 6.30pm. About 90 student volunteers/leaders attended this training.

The purpose of this training session was to train the student volunteers on their roles during the Colorectal Cancer Screening Day which would be held on 26th April 2015. The volunteer roles during the Screening Day include Registrars, Fit-kit Instructors, Ushers, and Door Knockers.

During plenary session, the student volunteers were briefed on the project’s progress and screening day process flow before they were divided into groups for more specific instructions/training based on their roles.

The registrars for the screening day were split into two groups ---- one group trained by Dr. Christina and another by Dr. Premini, the Medical officer from Klinik Kesihatan Kamping Pandan, assisted by experienced student leaders. Mr. Fung was the facilitator for the FIT Kit instructors. Both training of registrars and FIT-kit instructors incorporated use of role-play to refine the skills of student volunteers and boost their confidence level. These break-out group training sessions ended between 9pm and 9.30pm.

Concurrently, Ms. Rena was giving the briefing to the group of students who would be ushers and door knockers during the Screening Day. To ensure that they are efficient at their roles, they were introduced to the different materials and project collaterals that they would be working with on the Screening Day. The group dispersed at 8pm.

2015 Colorectal Cancer Screening Day

26 April 2015

EMPOWERED’S 2015 Colorectal Cancer Screening Workshop was conducted at Tuition Room at Blok B, PPR Hiliran Ampang on 26th April 2015. Participants could only join this screening workshop if they fulfil the following requirements:

1. Aged 50 years and above or have immediate family members with history of colorectal cancer (high risk group)
2. Residents of PPR Hiliran Ampang
3. Malaysian citizen

The screening workshop started promptly at 10am. There were already long lines of enthusiastic and qualified participants waiting outside the Tuition room. Ushers were controlling the crowd along the queue line and ensuring that only qualified participants proceeded to check in.

After checking in, each participant would initially meet with a registrar for a one to one session to give information about themselves, their lifestyle and habits as well as their health history. Upon successful registration, participants were given a FIT kit with their names written on the label and a FIT kit instructional manual. They were then ushered to the FIT kit instructional area to be taught on how to use these FIT kits.

FIT kit instructors would explain what colorectal cancer is, the risk factors of colorectal cancer, the methods of detection and how to use the FIT kits. Each FIT kit instructor could explain to a maximum of 4 participants per session. Participants were also given instruction on when to return their used FIT kits (after stool sample has been collected) back to EMPOWERED for subsequent tests at the laboratory.

The FIT kit will then be placed in a small, sealed bag and would then be packed in an A4-size plastic bag together with the FIT kit instructional manual and details on FIT kit collection. Lastly, an usher would assist the participant to collect their goodies bag and check out at the exiting area.

The screening workshop ended at 6pm. A total of 232 residents attended this screening workshop. Among these residents, 225 were given FIT kits and successfully registered to be part of the program.

FIT Kit Collection Day

28 April 2015

Community volunteers and EMPOWERED’s representatives were stationed at the Tuition room at Block B, PPR Hiliran Ampang from 7am to 7pm on 28th April 2015 to collect used FIT kits (after stool sample has been collected) from the registered participants of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Workshop which was held 2 days earlier.

During the workshop, successfully registered participants were given FIT Kits and instructed on how to collect their stool sample to be tested in laboratories. The returned kits were cross checked with the registration list from the screening workshop.

A total of 203 used FIT kits were returned and sent to Sunway Medical Centre for testing. The return rate for FIT kits was 90% this year. EMPOWERED is grateful to the cooperation of the community volunteers. They helped to ensure this successful outcome through their dedication and dynamic contribution in the preparation and execution of the community activities for this community project.

Breaking “Bad News” Day

24 May 2015

EMPOWERED staff and 3 trained nurses from Klinik Kesihatan Kampung Pandan formed 3 teams to break the news of positive detection of blood in stool to the residents of PPR Hiliran Ampang in the morning of 24th May 2015 at their homes. Appointments to visit them at their homes were made prior to this visit.

During home visits, EMPOWERED staff and volunteer nurses delivered the news in a tactful, composed and comforting manner on top of informing the residents that EMPOWERED would journey with them throughout the hospital visits, consultations, tests, and treatment that they might have to go through. They were also informed of EMPOWERED’s assurance to include them in the Patient Support Program that covers hospital fees and transportation fees.

The main reasons for this appointment were to comfort any resident who might be traumatized with the news and to answer any questions that they might have regarding the Patient Support Program. The teams were advised to convince these residents to make themselves available for their first hospital visits to Hospital Selayang. To cater for the total number of 23 residents detected with blood in their stool, the first hospital visit will be held on 2 dates, which are 2nd and 4th of June 2015.

Training workshop for Patient Support Program for International Medical University student volunteers

26 May 2015

The training workshop for the Patient Support Program of EMPOWERED’s 2015 Colorectal Cancer Awareness, Screening and Treatment Project was carried out on 26th May 2015. The training which was attended by 12 committed student volunteers from International Medical University started around 6.15pm.

The purpose of this training workshop was to prepare the students to be the proper aids for the residents of PPR Hiliran Ampang who were detected with blood in their stool and would be having their follow up consultation and investigation (colonoscopy) at the hospital.

A step-by-step material was used for this training, including instructions on what to do & expect at different times of the hospital visit. The students were also trained to do a simple social assessment during 1st hospital visit to find out what kind of support and care that individual resident needs. Each student volunteer was expected to support 1 to 2 residents and understand the bowel preparation process for colonoscopy so they could explain and remind the residents to do proper bowel preparation prior to the colonoscopy.

The brief training ended at 7.00pm after reminders were given to the students.

Patient Support Program - First Hospital Visit

2 June 2015 – 4 June 2015

Patient Support program (PSP) is part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness, Screening & Treatment Project (CCASTP), to support residents who tested positive (blood in stool) from the screening program.

In this program, EMPOWERED staff and IMU student volunteers accompanies the residents to the hospital. The IMU student volunteers will be pre-assigned to a resident and together they will go for the hospital visit. This year, we arranged transportation for 23 residents from PPR Hiliran Ampang to visit Hospital Selayang on 2nd and 4th June 2015. At the hospital, the residents went through a medical checkup and made appointment for colonoscopy.

In this visit, the residents collected their “fleet” medication from the pharmacy. Then, the nurses briefed them on how to do bowel preparation. The bowel preparation starts a day before the colonoscopy procedure. Residents have to fast 24 hours before the procedure; they cannot consume solid food, but are allowed to drink plain water or isotonic drink. The “fleet” medication has to be taken 20 hours before the procedure and continuously on an hourly basis until the 2 bottles of the “fleet” medication is consumed. It is important to perform the bowel preparation correctly because it leads to the effectiveness and quality of the colonoscopy check.

IMU student volunteers will call their assigned resident two days before the procedure to remind them about the bowel preparation requirements and provide emotional support, if needed.