Many clients and friends of Amanita have, obviously, been wondering why our founder, Dee Sidhu, has not been seen for a while. We are happy to inform that nothing untoward has happened to her.  She has simply decided to relocate to Perth where her two daughters are living.  Amanita was handed over to Doug and Etty, whom Dee and her husband, Americk, have known for a very long time, with effect from January 16th, 2009.  She will, however, remain as advisor/consultant and will be back in Malaysia periodically to give talks and meet with various interest groups. Besides that and the new models of bras, swimwear etc. that we bring in, Amanita remains unchanged especially in terms of service.  The same wonderful team, made up of Annabel, Asha, Jingle, Juliette, Esther and Alison, is on board to continue giving our clients that warm, caring and professional attention that has become Amanita’s hallmark.

On the Road to Learning and Serving

Over the last almost five months, Etty has met up with breast doctors and administrators at various major hospitals and officials of  relevant NGOs such as the National Cancer Society Malaysia, PRIDE, MAKNA and the Breast Cancer Welfare Association to help her understand breast cancer and how best to serve its survivors. She and the rest of the team have done a fair bit of outstation traveling: to the IIUM Breast Centre in Kuantan, twice to the Seremban Hospital, the first time along with Dee who gave a talk and where they fitted over 40 survivors, to Penang where they met with the CEO and Nursing Administrator of Loh Guan Lye Specialists Centre, the Consultant Breast Surgeon at Adventist Hospital and head of the Breast Cancer Support Group at Mount Miriam Hospital, and to the Segamat Breast Cancer Support Society.

For her recent planned, though very brief, visit to Malaysia, Dee had scheduled a talk to a group of doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel as well as survivors at Malacca Hospital. Etty and Annabel traveled down with her. With very encouraging response to the talk, a follow-up trip will be arranged for the near future.

The visit to Segamat was an especially heart-warming and enriching experience that deserves to be shared.  To see a group of survivors bonding through cooking and chatting, sharing food and laughter, singing and dancing without a trace of prejudice or self-pity was a humbling lesson in fostering racial harmony and overcoming adversity that we could all learn from.  The support group, whose stewardship has just passed from Madam Loh to Maria Kinson, has been extremely proactive, helping members pick up skills from English language to handicrafts not just to keep them occupied but gainfully so.  In a rather sleepy town like Segamat,  the Society’s clubhouse is undoubtedly one of the most ‘happening’  and happy places.

PRIDE without Prejudice

What warrants a special mention is the enormous contribution made by PRIDE to needy breast cancer survivors since the start of this year alone. The Foundation approved over 90 applicants for prostheses and bras, centred in Penang, Kuantan, Kota Baru and Kuala Lumpur.  The handing over to the Penang recipients was done on May 19th by Puan Nasirah Nasir, the Adviser to PRIDE, and those residing in or around Segamat have, also, been handed their “care” packages.

Whilst we are truly grateful to PRIDE and to organisations like MAKNA for working with us in meeting the needs of breast cancer survivors, we must also bring to attention that there are many, many other deserving women who are queing up for sponsorship. The Seremban Hospital, for instance, has an extensive list of cases and the Segamat Support Group has compiled a number. We sincerely hope that there are more charitable individuals and groups who will channel their donations to the relevant bodies to help us help them.