USP Labasa Campus closed their Pinktober month with a “Pinktea” on the 28th of October, 2021. Staff at Savusavu, Labasa Campus and PacTAFE Labasa Centre joined the virtual pink tea to mark the close of the annual Pinktober Campus event of which this year a cancer survivor Mrs. Jiu Tikoitoga was invited to share her story of survival and also campus staff donated to USP Pinkathon event, through the Association of USP Staff and donations were forwarded to Fiji Cancer Society.
Esteemed guest Mrs. Jiu Tikoitoga share her story of triumphing cancer. A retired niutrionist, and wife to a former diplomat, she spoke emotionally and eloquently on how one needs to be body aware.
Body aware means to be fully aware of what one’s normal body is and what is abnormal.” It is important to listen to your body and any slight offsets, one must be courageous enough to get it checked by the medical authorities,” she laments. Early detection saves lives, having a staunch unwavering support network was also imperative in a victorious cancer survival journey. Her story resonated God’s unwavering faithfulness, her resilience, a strong family support and the need to be aware of this silent killer in our midst. She brought tears and a created self-awareness in all staff present in the virtual Pink tea event on that day.
SLS Jiupili Simmons, was the Pinkathon Champion and had been doing some challenges to raise funds and also, create awareness of breast cancer amongst her peers, work colleagues, community and family. She joined a team of many Pink Champions around the USP Community who challenged themselves in a health journey and also initiated self-learning on the subject of cancer. The Labasa Campus staff collected a sizeable amount of donations and this was forwarded to AUSPS for contributions to Fiji Cancer Society.
Campus Director, Dr Bogitini encouraged staff to join together as a team and be Pink Champions come October 2022, raising awareness, and also been health conscious.
