Nearly 2,000 join Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation's Pink Walk at The Peak
Nearly 2,000 people participated in the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation's Pink Walk at The Peak on 25 October, raising funds for breast screening and patient support. Foundation chairwoman Dr Eliza Fok highlighted survivors returning as volunteers, while founder Dr Polly Cheung noted the median p
Nearly 2,000 people took part in the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual charity walk, Pink Walk, at The Peak on Sunday (25 October) to raise awareness of breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The walk from Peak Road Garden to The Peak Tower brought together breast cancer patients, survivors, healthcare professionals and members of the public. Singer Gin Lee, the event’s promotional ambassador, joined foundation ambassadors Bernice Liu and Qi Qi in supporting the event.
Held under the theme “Towards New Milestones,” the charity walk raised funds for the foundation’s breast screening and education programmes, patient support services, research and advocacy work.
Dr Eliza Fok Ho Yi-wah, chairwoman of the foundation, said one of the most moving aspects of its work was seeing breast cancer survivors return to volunteer after recovering. “What touches me most is that after patients recover, they come back to the foundation to volunteer,” Fok said. “They help us raise funds and spread breast cancer awareness.” Fok said the annual walk aimed to promote exercise and bring breast cancer information to more people. “Most importantly, we hope to bring breast cancer information to every corner of the community,” she said, urging women to take care of their breast health and encouraging people to remind female family members and friends to seek appropriate checks.
Fok said patients often felt lost when seeking reliable information after a diagnosis, particularly as online content could add to their emotional distress. The foundation provides professional nursing support and peer-support groups that connect patients of similar ages and at similar stages of the disease, allowing them to share experiences and support one another.
The foundation’s founder, Dr Polly Cheung Suk-yee, said public perceptions of breast cancer had changed with advances in medical treatment. “In the past, people were afraid to talk about cancer, especially breast cancer, and thought that having breast cancer meant losing a breast,” Cheung said. “But with advances in medicine, patients can recover after surgery and treatment.” Cheung said the median age of breast cancer patients in Hong Kong had risen from 52 in 2005, when the foundation was established, to 60 this year. She suggested that changes in lifestyle and reproductive patterns across generations, including less exercise, fewer children and later childbirth, could be contributing factors.
“The age group with the most breast cancer cases is 50 to 69,” Cheung said. She added that 23.9 per cent of patients were aged 70 or above, while those under 40 accounted for less than 10 per cent. Cheung said breast cancer cases began to rise from the age of 40 and encouraged women to pay attention to their breast health and seek appropriate screening advice.