Date: 11 January 2025
SPEECH BY SINGAPORE CANCER SOCIETY (SCS) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MR. ALBERT CHING, AT RELAY FIRST LAP ON 11 JAN 2025
Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Grassroot Adviser for Toa Payoh East
Ladies and Gentlemen, Volunteers, and Friends, good evening.
1. It is an honour for the Singapore Cancer Society to be here for PA’s GLOW Pedal Night Cycling Expedition that is held in support of Relay First Lap, a global event that officially kicks off Relay For Life events all around the world.
2. Relay For Life – or RFL for short – is a global movement founded in 1985 by the American Cancer Society in Tacoma, Washington. Since then, it has raised about $5 billion globally in support of the fight against cancer. Singapore is the 25th member country to organise RFL.
3. On behalf of SCS, I express our heartfelt gratitude to the PassionWave team, who organised GLOW Pedal 2025 to raise funds for Singapore Cancer Society – TalkMed Relay For Life. Their dedication has been invaluable in raising awareness and funds for our cause. Let us recognise their hard work and efforts with a round of applause.
4. Earlier in the day, Singapore’s Relay First Lap marked the start of RFL season with two of its three key activities: Walking, and Dragon Boating. Over 100 participants, comprising members of the public as well as from our inspiring cancer community, participated in these activities. It was truly heartwarming to see everyone encouraging and cheering each other on. Shout out to our SCS Purple Dragons, our SCS dragon boating team that comprise our cancer warriors as well as their caregivers. Your resilience inspires us!
5. The aim of RFL is essentially to rally our communities to celebrate the lives of those who battled cancer, remember those we lost, and fight back against a disease that has taken many lives. In Singapore, an average of 48 individuals are diagnosed with cancer daily, and 16 lives are lost to cancer each day ¹. As we gather here this evening, we stand in solidarity with all those affected.
6. With that in mind, please support our signature event, Singapore Cancer Society – TalkMed Relay For Life 2025 that will be held at the National Stadium on 8 – 9 March. You can choose to walk or run 100km around the relay track, either individually or in a team. If you’re not able to join us for the physical event, fret not! You can sign up for our virtual ‘My Fight Back Challenge’ instead. Do visit our RFL booth or go to scsrelayforlife.sg to register and learn more.
7. Once again, thank you all for your participation. Your presence underscores our shared commitment to making a meaningful impact in the fight against cancer. Together we can Minimise Cancer and Maximise lives.