Challenge

Breast cancer does not always announce itself with symptoms. In Indonesia, many women seek help only after the disease has reached an advanced stage, when treatment becomes more difficult. This resulted in almost 23,000 deaths in 2022.

Yet, fewer than 30 per cent of Indonesian women have reportedly undergone breast cancer screening. Cost is one barrier, but geography, fear and limited awareness also keep women away. Mammography and ultrasound services are unevenly distributed outside major cities, while preventive care often requires women to travel to a facility and pay themselves.

For women in rural communities or correctional facilities, early detection can feel particularly distant. Closing that gap requires healthcare to move closer to them.

Solution

Launched by Siloam International Hospitals in 2023, SELANGKAH means Semangat Lawan Kanker, or Fight Against Cancer. Its purpose is to give women the knowledge, access and confidence to take an early step.

Rather than waiting for patients to arrive at hospital, the programme works with local health offices, community groups, companies and correctional facilities to organise screenings where women already are. Thirty-nine Siloam International hospital locations now support its delivery.

Participants receive clinical breast examinations, with ultrasound or mammography provided when indicated. Onsite ultrasound events can screen between 150 and 200 women a day. Radiologists review the results, while women requiring further attention are connected to consultations and referral pathways through the Siloam network.

Every screening site also provides education on warning signs, risk factors, self-examination and the importance of routine checks. This helps women understand what screening is for before they undergo it and what their results mean afterwards.

SELANGKAH is free or highly affordable for participants. Grants, philanthropy and Siloam’s medical resources support the programme, while corporate partners can purchase screening packages for approximately US$6 per employee. Part of that income subsidises free care for underserved women.

Impact

Between March 2023 and January 2026, SELANGKAH had delivered more than 52,000 screenings across 15 provinces in Indonesia. Its outreach and education campaigns had also reached more than 390,000 people.

Between May 2024 and February 2026, 23,205 women attended more than 60 onsite ultrasound events. Among them, 287 received suspicious BI-RADS 4 to 6 findings that required further examination. For those women, screening was not simply an awareness exercise. It became the beginning of a pathway towards diagnosis and care.

One of the programme’s largest efforts took place at Lippo Plaza Yogyakarta in October 2025. Over seven days, 3,304 women were screened, earning SELANGKAH an Indonesian MURI record for the largest serial breast cancer ultrasound screening. Fifty-two participants received BI-RADS 4 or 5 findings.

The programme has also entered 15 women’s correctional facilities and rural and semi-urban communities where preventive healthcare is limited. Follow-up consultations help prevent women with concerning results from being left to navigate the next step alone.

Future Outlook

SELANGKAH aims to reach 70,000 cumulative screenings by the end of 2026. It also plans to deliver results on the same day or within one day and introduce standardised tracking so every participant can be followed through the screening pathway.

More corporate partnerships will strengthen the cross-subsidy model, allowing paid workplace screenings to open access for women who cannot afford care.

The long-term goal is to make early detection less dependent on where a woman lives or what she earns, because the distance between finding cancer early and finding it too late can change everything.