Big SEE and tell for the big C

The city has witnessed many events raising awareness for Cancer. But the trend has taken a more creative surge now, with many organisations coming up with new inventive ways to spread awareness of cancer care and diagnosis. From happy and bustling carnivals to video campaigns, marathons and fashion shows, the idea is to be inclusive and leave an impact on society. This helps people come out of their shells and speak of the disease instead of making it a hush-hush affair.

Dinesh Madhavan, director of healthcare services, HCG, has conducted diverse Cancer campaigns in the city. The latest on is called ‘Self-we’ which raises awareness by posting videos of cancer survivors who share their testimony with the world, debunking myths and give people a ray of hope. “We have gotten about 460 videos by now and some of them are from as far as Africa. It helps in terms of giving Cancer patients courage and inspires them share their stories and raise awareness. To make it more interesting, we have a contest each year, and last year’s winner was an 87-year-old Cancer patient called Kamala, from Sivakasi. It was super encouraging to see someone so old yet so enthusiastic about the cause.”

Even though some are terrified of getting tested, there is a huge stigma about the disease itself, with many women avoiding such tests completely. Dr Poonam Patil, a consultant oncologist who is an active part of the I ‘Can’ Sir Campaign which raises Breast Cancer awareness, says, “Many young women or even older ones are ashamed to take a day off to get themselves tested. Tests like a mammogram take a little longer than any normal tests would take so we came up with an ‘I Breast’ examination which is done by a portable device which takes about five minutes to detect any minor signs of cancer. We took these machines to offices so that it would be more convenient for these ladies, and any signs of early cancer can be detected.”

Another initiative was the Lilola Carnival, a fun-filled carnival organised for cancer patients which took place on February 18. It was open to the general public to participate in, and get themselves tested. The organiser Irfan Nagnoor, says, about the carnival, “Like all camps, we have regular check-ups and cancer screenings done but what made Lilola different is that we had a ramp show called a ‘Walk for Victory’, where patients walked down the ramp with poise and grace. One of our celeb Cancer patients, Mark Rico, who walks down the ramp each year, and is a great entertainer. He was a great support for this event. This is to help remove the stigma of Cancer so that people can look at it differently.”

Another recent event was the Pinkathon held on February 18, where around 11k people participated in the run. “It was absolutely amazing,” says the ambassador, Sonia Kulkarni who has been involved with Pinkathon since the start. This event is not just a marathon that raises awareness but is inclusive of all ages, and this year, they included 100 visually impaired girls joining in the race with Cancer patients who took part as well. Sonia says, “What we see every year is that touching people’s lives and not just raising awareness for Cancer but also promoting healthy living is great, especially since many women tend to forget testing because of their busy lives. ”