Scarves and turbans for women with breast cancer: Employees of KLINGER Brazil share their own experience and give hope to others.
It has been already a tradition at KLINGER Brazil to promote actions in the month of October to make employees aware of the importance of self-care, prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer, one of the main causes of death among women worldwide. And in 2022, “Pink October” was no different.
Since 2021, HR employee Katia Tonoli has had the idea of promoting charitable actions along with internal awareness campaigns, and thus, the partnership between KLINGER Brazil and Hospital São Vicente de Paulo (HSV) was born – a reference in oncology for 9 surrounding municipalities of Várzea Paulista, the city where the company is located.
Contacts mentioned in the article:
Katia Tonoli, HR employee at KLINGER Brazil
Donations on behalf of KLINGER Brazil
“From 2015 to 2016 I was treated for a very severe stomach cancer and, as an oncology patient, I know that a small action can be of immense value to anyone who is facing a disease like this. This is how the idea of donating scarves and turbans came about”, said Katia. She remembers how her fellow employees had an incredible engagement in the campaign as it was already the second year that they made donations on behalf of KLINGER Brazil.
Sharing an example of courage
The hospital Social Projects supervisor, Viviane Rasera, explains that the partnership between the hospital and the company was different in 2022.
„Instead of just running an internal campaign to collect scarves and send them to our patients, KLINGER Brazil invited the hospital to extend the campaign by taking a patient to talk a little about the process of coping with the disease, diagnosis, treatment and overcoming it, with the aim of deconstructing fear and sharing an example of courage!“
Viviane Rasera, Social Projects supervisor at Hospital São Vicente de Paulo
At the end of the event, on behalf of KLINGER Brazil, Katia delivered to Viviane, the hospital representative, the more than 50 handkerchiefs collected by the team, to be donated to women who are being treated for the disease. “The donation of scarves is a gesture of solidarity and affection from KLINGER Brazil towards our patients. They receive it with great gratitude, feel supported and encouraged to face the challenges of treatment”, says Viviane.
„We think the partnership we are establishing with HSV is really cool! In 2021 we already donated scarves and turbans, in 2022 we repeated the action by sending a letter full of affection to the patients. As an oncology patient, I know that this initiative feels like a hug.“
Katia Tonoli, HR employee at KLINGER Brazil, defeated cancer herself and joined the effort to inspire others.
Personal Experience
Gisele Ferreira, shared her experience as an oncology patient, made the collaborators aware of the importance of routine exams and early diagnosis.
„I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2018, so participating in the Pink October campaign is doubly special for me!“
Gisele Ferreira, activist and breast cancer survivor
As an activist for the cause, “I think that Pink October has to be maintained throughout the year, but I understand that this is an important time to join efforts to change people’s perspectives on women’s health and to encourage preventive exams, which can be decisive for effective treatment. The breast cancer awareness campaign breast should also be a priority for companies, since this disease directly affects their employees and their families. In this sense, I am very happy to be able to contribute, together with Hospital São Vicente, in this engagement campaign here at KLINGER Brazil and I congratulate the whole team for promoting an open and honest dialogue on the subject, ‘breaking taboos’ about the disease, making people aware of the importance of early diagnosis, this just confirms that KLINGER is committed to social responsibility and cares about the health and well-being of its employees. So you can always count on me!”
Hospital São Vicente de Paulo
Jundiaí is considered an important cancer treatment center in the state of São Paulo. The Hospital de Caridade São Vicente de Paulo is a reference for cancer care in 9 municipalities (Jundiaí, Várzea Paulista, Campo Limpo Paulista, Jarinu, Louveira, Itupeva, Cabreúva, Morungaba and Itatiba) and covers a population of 961,832 inhabitants.
The Oncology Service at Hospital São Vicente is accredited by the Ministry of Health as UNACON (High Complexity Assistance Unit in Oncology) and is accredited by PRONON (National Support Program for Oncological Care), being a reference in the definitive diagnosis and treatment of the most common prevalent cancers. This means that HSV has technical conditions, physical installations, equipment and adequate resources to provide specialized and highly complex assistance for cancer care.
Data from Hospital de Caridade São Vicente de Paulo, from the last three years, indicate that the most prevalent cancer is breast cancer, followed by prostate, rectum, colon, head and neck and leukemia.
Breast cancer, when diagnosed at an early stage, has chances of up to 95% of patient recovery. In this type of tumor, treatments may involve surgery, chemotherapy sessions and/or radiotherapy and hormone therapy.
At Hospital de Caridade São Vicente de Paulo, an average of 259 patients are treated every month.
Fact box
Did you know …
- … that breast cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in the female population in Brazil? It is the 2nd most common cancer among women.
- … that according to the National Cancer Institute (INCA), in 2020 around 66,280 new cases of breast cancer were estimated in Brazil?
- … that in 2018, around 17,000 deaths from breast cancer were recorded in Brazil?
- … that the incidence of breast cancer in Brazil increases with age? Most cases occur in women over 50.
- … that breast cancer can also affect men, although this is rare. In 2020, around 600 new cases of breast cancer in men were estimated in Brazil. Breast self-examination is important for early detection of breast cancer.
