The team behind Aloka by Intimates

The Bodyline Cancer Programme and Aloka by Intimates raises awareness about breast cancer 

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• Bodyline Cancer Programme and Aloka by Intimates teams share what makes them MAS Changemakers

MAS Holdings, which positions itself as a leading innovative clothing manufacturer, recently celebrated individuals and teams within the organisation who have emerged as architects of transformation, weaving together threads of hope, determination, and compassion. These changemakers bring the spirit of MAS Holdings’ purpose – one of being changemakers, enabling dreams, and enriching the fabric of life on the planet – to life, while also contributing to the success of the MAS Plan for Change.

The individuals and teams were recognised at the MAS Changemaker Awards held recently, where 12 winners were recognised. Of these, six were from the team category, which had 11 finalists and a total of 80 team applications.

The teams recognised as MAS Changemakers this year are Products Changed for Good winner Planetones by Noyon Lanka, Lives Changed for Good joint winners Aloka by Intimates and Bodyline Cancer Programme, Our Planet Changed for Good winner Value Enhancement of Organic Waste by MAS Fabric Park, and MAS Changemaker Team runner-up Elevate by Kreeda and winner Infini.

Given the impact made by these teams, The Daily Morning Brunch reached out to MAS Changemaker teams in order to learn more about the initiatives and their impact. This week, we look at the winners of the Lives Changed for Good category.

Nobody fights alone

The Bodyline Cancer Programme, Nobody Fights Alone, is a three-phased programme which includes creating awareness, screening, and the donation of mastectomy bras. Speaking about the initiative and what led to it, the team shared: “We believe early detection is critical to reduce the incidence of any type of cancer and we consider it our responsibility to educate our employees on breast and cervical cancer detection and prevention, given that our workforce is predominantly women.”

Bodyline has a workforce of over 12,000, of which 82% are women.

Awareness and screening

In 2021, having understood the severity of the issue in Sri Lanka and the lack of awareness among communities, Bodyline launched the Bodyline Nobody Fights Alone cancer programme. They took it upon themselves to ensure their female employees as well as women in the community were equipped with the knowledge to identify symptoms and risk factors and to facilitate screening to enable early detection.

“In awareness creation, we run poster campaigns, exhibitions, distribute brochures, host talk shows with medical professionals, and share experiences of our own cancer survivors to educate and disseminate information and address common myths while offering emotional support,” the Bodyline team shared.

They explained that, in terms of the screening element, they launched a programme last year to reach women aged 40 years and above residing within a 10 km radius of each of their facilities and conducted breast and cervical cancer screening programmes through the medical officer of health (MOH) at each location where their facilities are based. “We have also undertaken to renovate the Well Woman clinic in the Ingiriya Hospital to run these screenings, as it is near Bodyline and provides easy access to employees and females in the community,” the team added.

Mastectomy bras

The Bodyline Cancer Programme team decided to take their efforts a step further by exploring possibilities to meaningfully impact those who have undergone a mastectomy by donating custom-designed mastectomy bras. They explained that a mastectomy bra resembles a regular bra, but with an important difference in having spandex stretch pockets on the inside which help hold and keep the breast prosthesis in place.

“This is important during recovery after surgery, to minimise stretching and manoeuvring that may cause irritation around the skin at the surgical site and cause pain. On average, eight mastectomy surgeries are performed every week at Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama and approximately 30 surgeries a month,” they said, adding that the Bodyline Cancer Programme partnered with Apeksha Hospital to provide these bras to women from low-income families with the hope of aiding them in their healing process by reducing the discomfort of wearing an ordinary bra post-mastectomy.

The availability of mastectomy bras is fairly scarce in Sri Lanka, the team said, adding that this initiative allows many survivors to have access to products that are able to considerably improve their process of healing.

Being a changemaker

The Bodyline Cancer Programme is undoubtedly one that has a significant impact, and recognition as a MAS Changemaker is well-deserved. When asked what this recognition means to them, the Bodyline team said it was an immense privilege.

“The Bodyline Cancer Programme is still only a few years old, but we have been able to make considerable progress, especially with the development of mastectomy bras and the donation of the same to Apeksha Hospital,” they said.

The team went on to say: “In addition to being closely linked to enabling dreams, as mentioned in the MAS purpose, Bodyline’s Cancer Programme aligns two of the commitments under the Lives Changed for Good pillar in the MAS sustainability strategy, Plan for Change.”

They shared that they are very grateful to have this recognition, which also enables them to expand the programme, reaching out to more and more survivors while also expanding their reach in terms of beneficiaries that they can positively impact.

“However, the biggest reward for our teams are survivors like our colleague Chithrangani, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and was supported by Bodyline during her illness, and is now back at work after a full recovery,” the Bodyline team said, adding that one can learn more about her story on MAS Holdings’ YouTube channel.

Cancer awareness through ‘Aloka’

MAS Intimates identified the need for breast cancer awareness in 2014, when an internal needs assessment showed a gap in awareness and knowledge on this topic. “This need was validated by the Go Beyond Champions, who were the ambassadors of our flagship women’s empowerment programme, Women Go Beyond. What surfaced as a need through our internal baseline study of our workforce in Sri Lanka was also validated by the National Cancer Control Programme,” the MAS Intimates team shared.

They explained that breast cancer is often curable if detected early, but a lack of awareness leads to high mortality rates from breast cancer if left untreated. “We wanted to create increased awareness and open dialogue about a topic that has often been considered taboo, so that our female colleagues are given the best opportunity at early detection and survival. As of today, we’ve had six colleagues who have gone through screening, detected malignant lumps, received treatment, and emerged as survivors.”

What started as a breast cancer awareness programme has since expanded to other cancers such as cervical, oral, and prostate, and is contextualised to requirements in other countries based on evolving needs and lessons learnt through the implementation of the programme.

Supporting employees and communities

Aloka by MAS Intimates looks at education on breast cancer facts, risk factors, symptoms, detection, self-examinations, access to screening, and treatment options. “This is reinforced by trained staff, technical support by doctors, and access to clinics, and a support and monitoring mechanism for those identified as at-risk,” the team said. This covers the above-mentioned cancers as well.

Some of the ways that the programme supports employees and communities are:

Internal employees

• Awareness sessions and roadshows 
• Inductions
• Innovative methods, such as in-house radio, street dramas, wellness corners, and bookmarks
• Trained nurses and Aloka teams
• Anatomically correct dummies
• Access to regional/central services and clinics
• Activities in the month of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month)
• Support system within facilities

Other MAS teams, corporates, and communities

• Awareness campaigns using internal/facilitated resources
• Networks and partners
• Distribution of material in areas where women gather
• Access to mobile clinics and testing

Aloka by MAS Intimates is also now partnering with Indira Cancer Trust to understand new methods to reinforce the message internally, whilst expanding community reach. 

“As we look towards the future of the programme, we plan on enhancing check-up facilities at medical centres and providing training on grief counselling and palliative care to a wider group in addition to our counsellors, as well as developing localised plans on cancer awareness for other geographies,” the team said, adding that they also hope to work with youth groups such as AIESEC to take this initiative into the universities in Sri Lanka and organisations like Bloomertech to devise a low-cost breast cancer detection bra.

Recognition

Being a MAS Changemaker was an incredible recognition, the team said, adding that it is the culmination of almost a decade of work that so many different individuals and teams have carried out across the MAS Intimates division. “From our leadership, to our social sustainability, human resources and Women Go Beyond teams who work closely to develop the optimal strategy and interventions, to the champions who activate these programmes across our plants, so many people have come together to make this programme into what it is today, creating over 780,000 opportunities over the nine years since its inception.”

The team added: “It’s very exciting to be recognised as bringing the spirit of MAS’ purpose alive as Changemakers, and a great motivation for our teams to keep expanding the impact of the legacy of Aloka.”