The Kuching Chapter’s first annual general meeting was held at the Amphitheatre immediately after the Walk-a-Payung and its first Executive Committee (Exco) elected to lead the chapter’s development over the next two years.

The members of the Exco are:

To contact the Kuching Chapter, please call or sms any of the office bearers mentioned above.

According to newly elected Chapter President, Dr. Norsiah Fauzan, an SLE patient herself, an important task lies ahead for the Kuching Chapter to train up a team of counsellors – proposed to be made up of patients themselves – to provide free counselling services to SLE sufferers, especially those who have just been diagnosed, as well as their family members. This is because newly diagnosed patients are oftentimes bewildered as to what their disease is all about and what the future holds for them.

The Kuching Chapter’s Medical Advisor, consultant rheumatologist Dr. Teh Cheng Lay, said “Counselling is an important work of the support group. Many newly diagnosed patients think they are going to die or that their future is bleak and hopeless because of this serious auto-immune disorder. But I have seen many patients who go through a terrible time with the disease recover and get on with their lives.

“Basically, SLE is a disease that waxes and wanes. There are periods when there is active disease, i.e. relapse, and periods of remission when the disease is not active. As such, for patients who comply with treatment and take their prescribed medications, there is a good chance of going into remission. Counselling helps these patients to persevere with their medications during their bad times.”