THOUGH many are aware that diabetes is a silent killer, lax attitude towards the disease can increase the risk of complication.
In-conjunction with the Diabetes Awareness Month, Lions Club Penang Komtar and Penang Adventist Hospital with the support of Diabetes Malaysia Penang Branch jointly organised the ‘Diabetes Awareness Campaign 2018’ at Sunshine Farlim Shopping Mall on Nov 18.
The event was held to create awareness on the importance of having regular health checks.
Penang Adventist Hospital Occupational Health Doctor Dr Dicky Ng Teik Kee also gave a talk on ‘Diabetes Care’ to highlight the dangers of the disease and ways to prevent it.
According to Lions Club of Georgetown City charter president Dr William Teh, there were more than 200,000 diabetic patients in Penang.
“Based on the Malaysian Health and Morbidity Survey 2015, there were 200,020 diabetic patients in Penang. About 110,000 patients were unaware that they have diabetes.
“The Lions Club wants to the people by providing blood sugar level screenings.
“We have screened 4,787 people in Penang as of Oct 31 this year. Five-hundred-and-thirty-four of them have diabetes and only 25% of them had good control over the disease,” he said.
The programme offered complimentary health screenings such as blood glucose test (for first 200 pax), test for body mass index, body fat, blood pressure and blood cholesterol (for first 50 pax who are above the age of 40) and basic counseling.
There were also free cataract screenings for those above 40-years-old and foot assessment sessions.
Story & Pix by Tanushalini Moroter