Mr Tan Geok Tian, Chairman, Singapore Cancer Society

Dr Tan Hwee Huan, President, Diabetic Society of Singapore

Ladies and gentlemen

I am happy to join all of you here today to celebrate the opening of two new centres in Jalan Besar division--the Singapore Cancer Society-Central Singapore Screening and Education Centre and the Central Singapore Diabetes Education and Care Centre.

The Centres are the result of a collaboration between the Central Singapore Community Development Council, Singapore Cancer Society and the Diabetic Society of Singapore. The objective is to provide convenient diabetes and cancer-related health education, counselling and screenings.

Cancer and diabetes are currently ranked as two of the top six killer conditions in Singapore. According to the National Health Survey 1998, 9% of the Singapore's population between the ages of 18 and 69 have diabetes, while cancer accounts for 27% of total deaths. More alarming is the fact that incidence of both diseases amongst those under 50 years is showing an upward trend.

Health screening programmes focus on screening persons with a high risk of developing a disease will enable such disease to be detected early. This will result in better treatment and recovery rates. Early diagnosis will also reduce the possibility of serious complications of both diabetes and cancer. However, despite public education programmes and health promotion campaigns to reinforce the importance of screening for cancer and diabetes, many Singaporeans have still not taken that first step to go for screening.

Why are people reluctant to go for screening? There are many reasons. Sometimes it is due to ignorance. Or it can also be due to the misconception that a serious illness is bound to be incurable. So they adopt a "I rather not know" mentality. "What I don’t know, will not hurt me." But this is very dangerous. By the time the disease is discovered, it might be too late. Hence, it is vital to change our people’s attitude and to help them overcome such psychological barriers . Early detection is in fact the best chance for recovery and survival.

For those patients who are unfortunately stricken with either disease, they and their family members will have to go through difficult periods of pain and suffering. For the poor, there is the added burden of paying for the medical treatment. Fortunately our public health care system is both efficient and affordable. The poor can also seek help from government’s MediFund and other voluntary welfare organisations. For instance, the Singapore Cancer Society and Diabetic Society of Singapore have both been serving the community and helping the poorer patients and their families.

Both Societies have also organised public forums and activities to spread the message of prevention and management of diabetes and cancer. Together with the patient support groups, they have reached out to many Singaporeans and educated them on the two diseases. However, we need to do more in view of the rising numbers of Singaporeans being afflicted with the two diseases.

We are therefore very happy to have these two new Centres here. They will certainly be a great help since we do have many older residents living in Boon Keng area. Both Centres will complement other healthcare providers to ensure every person with diabetes and cancer get the best advice in dealing with these diseases. The Centres will also provide a one-stop education service for people wanting to understand the causes, cure and prevention of cancer and diabetes. I am sure that the residents of the Jalan Besar GRC will benefit tremendously from this meaningful community partnership.

On this note, I want to congratulate both the Singapore Cancer Society and the Diabetic Society of Singapore and the Central Singapore CDC for your commendable efforts to serve the health needs of Singaporeans. These new Centres are an important addition to our healthcare services for cancer and diabetes nationwide. It is now my pleasure to declare the Centres open.