Health & Living

Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among Malaysian women, yet too many are still diagnosed at later stages when treatment becomes more challenging. Prof Dr See Mee Hong, a consultant breast surgeon at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, discusses advances in breast surgery, including robotic and oncoplastic techniques that aim to remove cancer safely whilst preserving quality of life. Rosalind Tan, secretary of the UMMC Candy Girls Support Group and a breast cancer survivor herself, shares her journey through diagnosis, surgery and recovery, and explains how the support group raises funds for the PPUM Care B40 Breast Cancer Diagnostic Fund to help lower-income women access the imaging, biopsies and tests needed for timely diagnosis.

Check out the Pink ESG Wellness Campaign 2026 from 16–18 October at Pavilion Damansara Heights Kuala Lumpur. Find out how to support UMMC Candy Girls Support Group’s fundraising on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

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Budget 2027 is in and the Ministry of Health has been allocated RM47.7 billion out of the RM459.8 billion federal budget. But with this being the smallest increase the Ministry has received throughout the Madani administration, what does this mean for the operation, expansion and modernisation of our healthcare system? We unpack this and more with Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy, and Dr Murallitharan Munisamy, medical director of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia. 

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Do you often toss and turn in bed trying to fall asleep, or wake up at odd hours? Are you kept up at night because of a racing mind, or do you sometimes struggle to get out of bed because you feel too sluggish? On this month’s open clinic show, consultant psychiatrist Associate Professor Dr Rusdi Abd Rashid helps us peep into the mind to better understand how sleep affects mental health, and vice versa. We answer questions about insomnia, anxiety and other sleep disturbances linked to psychological factors.

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Three years after suicide has been decriminalised in Malaysia, the work to strengthen suicide prevention is still ongoing. The Ministry of Health recently launched the National Suicide and Fatal Injury Registry Malaysia as well as the Postvention Services Clinical Guideline, both of which are initiatives that mental health advocates have been calling for, even before the decriminalisation of suicide.

With World Suicide Prevention Day commemorated last month and World Mental Health Day coming up, we explore why suicide postvention is prevention, and why these two new initiatives matter with Michelle Ng, ADUN for Subang Jaya, and Assoc Prof Dr Amer Siddiq bin Amer Nordin, consultant psychiatrist at University Malaya Medical Centre. Both guests are also part of the Care Warriors Association and the conversation also touches on the role of community organisations in supporting survivors of suicide loss. 

This discussion will touch on topics of suicide and self-harm. If you, or someone you know, needs emotional support, reach out for help within your community or contact the Befrienders KL (03-76272929 or [email protected]), Talian HEAL (15 555), MIASA (1-800-1800-66) or AWAS Malaysia (Whatsapp 010-234 4808)

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Malnutrition is a growing problem among our children, and along with poverty, it creates a vicious cycle that can’t be fixed by simply telling families to eat better. Especially for families living in rural areas or in poverty, addressing malnutrition is more than just knowing what to do but having an environment that helps make those food choices easier. To unpack this, we speak to Ang Zheng Feng, Health & Nutrition Officer at World Vision Malaysia. In this interview, Zheng Feng shares more about World Vision Malaysia’s community development programmes as well as their nutrition-through-sports programmes. 

Image Credit: World Vision Malaysia

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As breast cancer treatment becomes more advanced, more women today will be able to see a horizon much further in the distance. There is hope for women to pick up the threads of their life they had put on hold to undergo treatment. But women shouldn’t have to navigate the post-treatment phase of their lives alone. We get the perspectives of the Breast Cancer Welfare Association and National Cancer Society Malaysia on the kind of structural support women need beyond diagnosis and treatment. 

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Breast cancer is typically diagnosed among women after the age of 50, yet we seem to be hearing about more women who are being diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age. In conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, more commonly known as Pink October, we speak to clinical oncologist Dr Nisha Shariff and genetic counsellor Yoon Sook Yee to unpack the risks that younger women face and how genetic testing could help them understand those risks.

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We’ve all been stressed before, and for some of us, it’s just part and parcel of our daily lives. So how do you know when you’re coping well or barely treading water? Licensed and registered counsellor Rozy Khalid joins us to help us unpack when stress is good or bad, as well as offer tips on how we can learn to cope with stress and when you might need to set clear boundaries.

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The last year has seen the Ministry of Health attempting to implement long-term systemic reforms, while addressing acute crises, all amid a war in the Middle East. Together with Dr Tharani Loganathan, Associate Professor of Global Health, from Universiti Malaya, we look at how the upcoming Budget 2027 could be an opportunity to continue healthcare reforms, and how we need to look beyond funding alone. 

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The Bidayuh in Sarawak have among the highest rates of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) in the world. It is also the most common cancer among Sarawakian men. What are the factors that increase the risk of NPC among the Bidayuh community, and what are the systemic barriers to addressing early diagnosis and comprehensive care of NPC? We explore with Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy, and Professor Datu Dr Andrew Kiyu, Professor of Public Health from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Malaysia Sarawak.

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