Prioritise your own health, CEO of pharmaceutical company tells women

What changed Deepti's outlook on the healthcare system is her own mother's cancer journey.

Women usually give a high priority to their family's health and tend to take their own health for granted. As a result, they often don't get diagnosed or treated early, which lowers their chances of recovery, says Deepti Saraf, general manager of a pharmaceutical company.

The 43-year-old who has 20 years of experience in the industry reveals that what changed her outlook on the healthcare system is her own mother's cancer journey.

My mother was diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic, she says.

"When she had her first symptoms, she ignored them, saying the family was going through Covid-19, there was a grandchild on the way, etc. She gave all those other things more priority than her own health - and this is typical of many women whether they are in India (where the mother was), Malaysia, or elsewhere. It was only when the symptoms appeared the third time that she went for a diagnosis," says Deepti.

"It took going to five to six different hospitals, seven to eight doctors, and six months to get her diagnosis ironed out," she reveals.

"My mother got the best treatment, but had a lot of side effects and there was nobody she could talk to about what she was going through and the psychological trauma of having cancer."

We need to redesign the healthcare system to be women centric, says Deepti."All this made me realise what a patient goes through when they have cancer. It changed my perspective and made me understand just how important it was for cancer care to be women centric," she says.

"A lot of the healthcare workforce are women and a lot of family health decisions are made by women, but healthcare for women remains far behind.

"We need to redesign the healthcare system to be women centric. And, as healthcare professionals, we must understand a woman’s mindset when we talk to her. Women give priority to their families over their own health so the healthcare system needs to be conscious of this when dealing with them," she adds.

Receiving needed care

"While 70% of the healthcare workforce are women, less than 25% are in leadership roles. And only 5% of the healthcare assets across the world are dedicated to women," says Deepti citing World Health Organisation data from a study, "Delivered by women, led by men: A gender and equity analysis of the global health and social workforce" (2019).

"My vision is for healthcare in the future to empower patients to make decisions for themselves, where digital and predictive analysis can tell each person what kind of diseases they're likely to have, so that they can take better care of themselves," she says.

"Bringing care closer to the women will ensure they receive early diagnoses and treatment, and ultimately survive," she says.

Another problem, says Deepti, is that diseases such as breast and cervical cancer, HIV, etc, are looked at in a silo.

"A woman should be able to go for breast cancer and cervical cancer screening at the same time.

"We also need a system that is data driven so that patients don’t have to carry files/documents from one hospital to another, or even one doctor to another. When the patient makes the decision where to go, the data has to flow seamlessly/smoothly across the healthcare system," she adds.

Deepti speaking at A Breath of Fresh Hope event. Photo: Roche MalaysiaShe reveals that in East Malaysia, her company, Roche, is trying to help women get cancer care closer to home.

"We've trained healthcare professionals in districts and sub-districts to manage cancer, increased the capacity of cancer infusion chairs (needed for treatment) in the district hospitals so that women don’t have to travel for long durations and distances, because most women drop out if they have to go long distances for treatment, despite knowing the consequences," she says.

"The urgency is great because in Malaysia, 40% of young women from the ages of 35 to 44 are dying from breast cancer, and similarly in the case of cervical cancer, both of which are curable."

Challenging societal norms

Deepti says that she tries to create 'women's tribes' where women can have conversations about the challenges they face and give each other the confidence to go through them.Deepti, who feels that "healthcare is a space where you can not only earn a living but also give back to society and change people's lives", was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and educated in microbiology and biotechnology.

She worked in Mumbai for several years before moving to Thailand.

"I come from a society where most women don't work, so for me to make that decision was a big deal," she says, adding she's grateful to her husband who has been very supportive.

"In Asian culture, it's always the woman who follows the man and for the man to follow the woman is uncommon and not easily accepted. While my family was alright with it, it was difficult for people around us to accept," she says.

Deepti and her husband were in Bangkok, Thailand for five years, before she came to Malaysia where she has been for three years. Currently, her husband, who is a chartered accountant works as a vice president for a company in Thailand, and travels back and forth between Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to spend time with Deepti and their nine-year-old daughter.

As a leader, Deepti says that she tries to create "women's tribes" where women can have conversations about the challenges they face and give each other the confidence to go through them.

Her advice to women is: "Don’t let your fears overpower you but give more power to your dreams. Don't let people tell you that you can't do it, or you’re not worth it. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. So believe in yourself."