Samoa’s fight against deadly cancer advances

Samoa’s battle against cancer advanced its cause on Saturday night at the Y-Not Bar at Matautu where close to $150,000 was raised for the Samoa Cancer Society.

The occasion was the Bluesky Shave It, Save It or Dye It fundraiser.

The colour pink was used by the Dyee participants while the majority of participants chose to shave it all.

Among men and women who shaved was businessman, Leota Kuki Retzlaff. The owner of the Le Lagoto Resort in Savai’i took the challenge in support of all the cancer sufferers in Samoa, especially his sister.

“I dedicate this to my sister who is fighting cancer in New Zealand. It was just this year that they informed us that there is nothing much we can do,” Leota said.

“She is the third child in our family and she is one of my five sisters. I also have cousins who are fighting this cancer and sometimes I just say to myself that life is so cruel.

“I mean it’s heart breaking and unacceptable if the doctors say that there is no hope at all and that we don’t have much time left with our loved ones. Such an experience is just a nightmare.

”Those are really hard times but instead of breaking down and crying, we have to stay strong for the person who is affected.

Being strong and giving them our support is what we should do.”

And support Leota showed by shaving his hair and raising money for the Samoa Cancer Society.

“We have faith in God and we believe that He will never let His children down,” he said.

“We don’t know how much pain she is in right now and we don’t have any idea how hard her battle is. But this is one way of showing my support, by shaving my hair to raise money for people like my sister and cousins. I just want to at least do something that will let her know that no matter what; we are all with her along the way.”

When the Samoa Observer spoke with Leota in the afternoon before the event, he had already raised closed to $5,000. He said he expects to raise a lot more.

Leota had also been fundraising with the Assistant Manager of the Le Lagoto Resort, Mata’ia Seti Sa, whose sister also has cancer.

“I’ve never shaved my hair before, this is something new and I am not doing it because I want to. The only reason why I want to do this is to show my support and to fundraise money so that we will be able to help our families and friends who are fighting cancer.”

Amanda Lam, the Owner of Scalinis Restaurant showed her support by dyeing her hair pink.

Mrs. Lam, who is also the Secretary of the Samoa Cancer Society, said this is her way of helping to raise the profile of the Society. “Participants have all been asked why they are participating . . . personally, I’m doing this in memory of Joeman Sefo, who had cancer and passed away in 2013, aged three years old,” she said. The fundraising event by the Samoa Cancer Society is held every two years.

For Mrs. Lam, this is not her first time participating in a fundraising activity.

“As an Executive Member of the Society, I’m involved in most of our fundraising efforts,” she said.

“As an Executive Member, I see all the hard work that our four staff members do, and the impact it has on the Samoan community through our cancer awareness outreaches and our patient support services.

“We have also linked up with overseas cancer and palliative care organisations. Through these networks, it is encouraging to hear of the progress in other Pacific countries too.” Mrs. Lam also acknowledged the help of Salon Sheree for dyeing her hair.

The fundraising activity was well attended. Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, delivered the keynote address.