SARAWAK CHILDREN'S CANCER SOCIETY
Registration No: PPM 001-13-26112001
20 December 2021
Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society (SCCS) today announced that it has pledged to contribute RM260,000 to subsidize treatment costs for a 3 year old cancer fighter, Samuel Liau from Miri who is a high risk Neuroblastoma patient. Samuel will be undergoing a stem cell transplant in Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and subsequently immunotherapy, which will be carried out in Sarawak General Hospital. The subsidy includes a donation of RM100,000 from Fastart Sdn Bhd. The total cost of these treatments is approximately RM412,000 in total.
Samuel is the first patient that SCCS is supporting to undergo immunotherapy, a treatment that is not readily available due to its high cost, with hopes to significantly increase his chances of survival. This is in alignment with the Society’s vision to provide children with cancer in Sarawak with access to the best available treatment and care.
Mr Liau, Samuel’s father, shared that he is grateful to the Society and other donors for their support in giving his son a fighting chance at recovering from this cancer.
Mdm Jocelyn Hee, past president of the SCCS committee, said, “With this story, we hope the public can understand why SCCS needs to continue to raise awareness and significant amount of funds annually. Each year 60 to 70 children are diagnosed with Childhood Cancer in Sarawak. 150 families are supported annually from a range of holistic support services to help families navigate this journey. We also hope to support and work with other local support groups to help improve treatment outcome and standard of care ultimately for all Malaysian children.”
The Society has received 64 new cases so far for this year, in addition to supporting children who are still undergoing treatment from last year, as well as relapse cases. The Society has strived to continue providing much needed essential services for children with cancer and their families, to date conducting over 400 counselling sessions, providing 113 transportation claims at over RM50,000 for families to travel to receive treatment, supported over RM216,000 for medical expenses (not including this donation), and provided accommodation, food and transport to 51 families staying at the SCCS halfway home in Kuching and Miri, at a cost of over RM118,000, among other various services.
“Throughout this difficult time, there are still new cases being diagnosed almost weekly, and children with cancer still need to go for treatment, and continue to have access to our services. We hope that the public can recognise this, and provide support to these children and families in need.”
Since its formation in 1999, SCCS has supported more than 1,500 children and their families through various services provided. Their services range from emotional support, the running of halfway homes in Kuching and Miri for outstation patients receiving treatment at local government hospitals, monthly financial aids, medical treatment and procedures aid, training for medical staff, public education campaigns and various recreational activities throughout the year. With an average of 70 children diagnosed with cancer each year, in addition to children receiving on-going treatment as well as relapse cases, much resources and energy is invested to ensure sustainable support towards the care of a yearly average of 200 children suffering from cancer, and their families.
Members of the public who are interested in providing continuous support to ensure these services continue to be provided to the children with cancer, can also sign up for the SCCS Heart of Gold monthly donation program, at bit.ly/donate2sccs, or contact events@sccs.org.my to find out more.
Together, Let’s Be Brave and Help Kids Fight Cancer.