Kuala Lumpur: Jet lagged and still exhausted after their journey from Korea, the stars of the LPGA stars nonetheless put on their best smiles as they launched the new Breast Care Centre at the Sime Darby Medical Centre in Subang Jaya today, as part of the pre-tournament programme of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.
Led by Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Jennifer Song and Malaysia’s Jean Chuas, the ladies were joined by Sime Darby Berhad chairman Tun Musa Hitam and members of the Sime Darby Medical Centre Board as they learned more about the continued efforts of the tournament’s official charity, Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF). Kerr, Creamer, Gulbis and Song also announced that they will donate a portion of their tournament earnings to furthering the cause.
Similar to last year when the event raised a sum of RM500,000, proceeds from gate receipts and the gala dinner from this year’s Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will be channelled to the collaborative research between CARIF and University Malaya to improve the outcome for breast cancer patients in Malaysia and to reduce disparities in cancer treatment and care.
Speaking at the opening of the Breast Care Centre at the Sime Darby Medical Centre, Tun Musa Hitam, spoke on the importance of cancer research and praised CARIF for its work thus far. “Sime Darby is proud to continue as one of the prime donors of CARIF since its research laboratory started in 2000 and over the past eleven years we are delighted to help aid the research that creates hope for cancer patients. We are privileged to have opened the Breast Care Centre here today and are pleased to demonstrate Sime Darby LPGA’s fund-raising for cancer research again this year,” said Musa, who teed off the ‘Pink Swing’ campaign with a contribution of RM90,000 from Sime Darby Healthcare to CARIF.
The CARIF Patient Navigation Program assists patients and their families with important decisions regarding their care, including surgery procedures and where to have such medical treatment. Ultimately the goal is to improve the quality of life and survival chances of those suffering from breast cancer in Malaysia.
Gulbis, who visited the medical centre last year ahead of the inaugural event, was impressed with the progress made by CARIF and the medical centre since. “The visit last year was a real eye-opener for me and I would like to thank everyone involved in allowing me to be part of this year’s opening of the new Breast Care Centre by the hospital. The CARIF staff here have demonstrated where our donations go, and to see all the work that has been done in the past twelve months is incredible.
“Unfortunately everybody has been touched by cancer at some point in their lives so are aware of the importance of the continued research in order to find a cure, or at least in allowing these patients more support during their experience. We will definitely look to do our bit to raise funds and grow support for CARIF this week at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia,” said Gulbis.
Creamer was also glad that she will be able to play a part in raising the awareness for breast cancer research in Malaysia. “It has truly been wonderful visiting the Sime Darby Medical Centre today, learning more about CARIF and what it does to contribute to breast cancer research and to improve survival for breast cancer patients in Malaysia. We have started the sponsorship process here today via the ‘Pink Swing’ and I pledge to continue to do my part to spread the message, especially this week during the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.”
