Bengaluru: While the awareness surrounding cancer has increased in recent years, the rural masses are still largely ignorant and cases of women diagnosed in the later stages of the disease being abandoned by their families, still abound in these parts.
Dr. Mathangi , a cancer specialist , who has practiced for the last 15 years in various government and private hospitals, says she has come across many women with locally advanced cancers that cannot be cured. “ I have seen families desert women suffering from cervical cancer that has eroded into the bladder leading to uncontrolled unrination, or with breast cancer that has fungated with severe bleeding, infection and pungent odour,” she recalls.
It was such heartrending encounters that prompted her to work with NGOs helping the underprivileged and making sure that appropriate information reached the remotest areas and rural masses by closely interacting with every household in their coverage area.
Dr. Mathangi’s first interaction was with a woman, who holds small camps in Doddabellapur. Through her, the doctor connected with local gynaecologists and did multiple awareness sessions and clinical breast examination camps in various local government school campuses. This led to the doctor and her team training social workers in performing and teaching breast examination and carrying out visual inspection using acetic acid to screen for breast and cervical cancers without any major equipment. “All they need to do is see or feel any abnormality and guide the patient to meet the relevant doctors for further action,” she explains.
The team also held a training session on breast examination with anganwadi workers. Through these small but continuous and significant efforts, Dr. Mathangi and her team are helping women identify early abnormal signs and seek timely medical help. The doctor and others from her local community are also volunteers in “Chilume”, an organisation dedicated to helping local government schools.
