Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focussing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
On this week’s Hashtag Hong Kong, we are joined by Dr. Yvonne Tsang, Member of Advisory Council from Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation to talk about breast cancer.
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Good morning. Today, I want to talk about a very important health issue that affects many women in Hong Kong. It’s breast cancer. I know it’s not an easy topic to talk about, but it’s crucial. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in our city, and the numbers are indeed pretty alarming.
In 2021, over 5,500 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s a staggering increase—five times more than in 1991. This means that one in every 13 women in Hong Kong will face invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, with an average of 15 women dying from the disease every week.
The median age for breast cancer patients in Hong Kong is 58, which is younger than in places like the U.S. and Australia. This affects many women in their prime, leading to emotional and financial struggles. Notably, over 94% of breast cancer patients are over 40, and the risk increases as we get older.
Now, let’s talk about the risk factors. The Hong Kong Breast Cancer Registry has identified ten high-risk factors, including: Positive family history, early menstruation late first childbirth and no breast feeding.
These factors are in some ways beyond our control, but there are some risk factors that we can manage and reverse such as being overweight, lack of exercise, and a meat-heavy diet, use of alcohol, hormonal therapies and high stress levels.
For symptoms of breast cancer, I have to emphasize that many a time early breast cancer does not give you any symptoms. However, some common symptoms to watch for are: Painless lumps in the breast or in armpit, discharge from nipple, nipple retraction and changes in skin like orange peel.
So, how can we catch breast cancer early? Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation recommends that women over 40 follow a three-step routine:
1. Monthly self-exams
2. Clinical check-ups every two years
3. Mammograms every two years
It’s all about staying proactive! We cannot control whether we will get sick or not, but what we can do is if it really happens, we catch it early and we keep our bodies fit to fight against it.
While personal actions are vital, systemic support is also essential. Countries like the UK and United States and places in Asia such as South Korea and Taiwan have population screening programs, Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation is advocating for a similar rollout in Hong Kong. We are pleased to see that the government launched a Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme in 2021, but more needs to be done.
Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation supports the “Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address”, which aims to develop risk-based screening programs for prevalent cancers. We hope the government will commence phase 2 of the Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme soon to provide screening for high-risk women. We believe population screening can reduce cancer diagnoses at late stages and lower death rates.
To conclude, breast cancer is a major health concern for women in Hong Kong. Early detection saves lives, and regular screening is crucial. Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation offers breast screening services, cancer support services and educational talks and research on breast health.
Now, I would like to dedicate the song “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson to all of you for listening. Let’s all stay informed, prioritize our health, raise awareness and support those affected by breast cancer. Fight against breast cancer, for a better place, a better Hong Kong.
Hi I am Elvis Ng from Heep Hong Society.
Hong Kong parents face different pressures every day, especially those with preschool children. Often, stress arises from the personal expectation on children’s performance, parent-child communication, and children’s conduct. A survey conducted by Heep Hong Society " Social Work Service for Pre-Primary Institutions " from February to March 2022 on "Parental Stress and Resilience of Children" found that among 502 parents with preschool children, over half of them exhibited symptoms of depression. More than 40% of families with Special Educational Needs children were assessed as unhealthy, with resilience at a risk level.
Emotional resilience is based on six areas: parental emotional flexibility, coping abilities, self-compassion, common humanity, family support, and social support. This framework provides parents with more personal and interpersonal resources to face various difficulties and adapt to negative emotions and events. It enables them to maintain good emotional health even when confronted with challenges.
Those with lower emotional resilience are easier to be affected mentally and physically. For example, there may be persistent feelings of low mood, pessimism, or unhappiness. It can result in a loss of interest in daily activities and social events. Besides, this can also lead to various physical symptoms such as insomnia, loss of appetite, fatigue, headaches, and stomachaches.
In response to this, Heep Hong Society, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Baptist University Department of Social Work, implemented the "Project PSI Preschool Children’s Parental Stress Intervention Study" from February 2022 to September 2023. This project was implemented in 32 kindergartens and 4 preschool rehabilitation service units. The study aimed to identify parents with low emotional resilience through the "Social Ecological Resilience Scale" and using "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" (CBT) to enhance parental emotional resilience and family functioning, reduce parental stress, and promote the emotional health of parents and children.
The "Project PSI Preschool Children’s Parental Stress Intervention’’ utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to assist parents of preschool children in recognizing personal thinking patterns and cognitive traps that arise in caring for their children. It involves learning different techniques to apply in changing thinking patterns, aiming to establish a new life experience and interpretation for parents of preschool children. This process aims to replace past negative experiences. This approach contributes to strengthening parents' ability to control their emotions and reducing emotional distress in the context of caring for preschool children.
Data from the CBT Intervention group indicates that, after intervention and in the three-month follow-up, the percentage of parents with negative emotions reaching a healthy level increased from 72% to 91%. The level of family functioning increased from 0.9% to 1.8%. The percentage of improvement in the difficulty level of children increased from 38% to 47%. The percentage of parents with high levels of emotional resilience reached from 60% to 76%. There was improvement in all four areas, and 90% of parents saw a return of their negative emotions to a healthy level. Some of these benefits persisted in the three-month follow-up.
Our partner, Professor Wong Fu-keung, Chair Professor of the Department of Social Work at Hong Kong Baptist University, also pointed out that the data reflects a corresponding decrease in emotional and behavioral difficulties in children when parental negative emotions are reduced. This indicates the correlation between parents and children in terms of emotional health. Effective intervention strategies not only assist parents in improving emotional health but should also enhance parents' resilience in facing adversity, indirectly improving the health and well-being of their children.
We have established the "Social Ecological Resilience Scale" to help parents and peers understand their emotional resilience, to identify parents with low emotional resilience as early as possible. The public can visit Heep Hong Society’s website to access relevant information and conduct self-assessments to understand their own situations.
Social Welfare Department has been providing "Social Work Service for Pre-Primary Institutions" to support the parents since 2018. This year, the service is localised to four districts, our team is assigned to provide services in Sham Shui Po starting from August. We aim to provide immediate intervention, professional counseling, and referral services to the pre-school children and their family members at risk of potential crisis.
I would like to dedicate this song Just Carry On by Terence Lam to everyone.