As part of its mission to raise awareness on the advantages of early detection of breast cancer, Tata Trusts conducted an innovative initiative ‘Gaanth Pe Dhyaan’ at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Cancer Care and Advanced Research (SVICCAR) here on Friday.
Tirupati is the third city, where the initiative has been launched after Ranchi and Kolkata to create awareness among women and destigmatise conversations around breast self-examination. Using the metaphor of how ‘lumps in food’ impacts the taste and texture, the programme, which was part of the larger ‘Kaise Ka Cancer’ campaign, sought to allay apprehensions about lumps in the breast, while urging women to seek timely action.
Prasanth Penumadu, head of surgical oncology at SVICCAR said breast cancer comprised one-fourth of all cancer cases, thus significantly contributing to India’s overall cancer burden. Medical oncologist P. Nageswara Reddy explained the disadvantages of diagnosis at an advanced stage, compared to ensuring a complete cancer cure through early detection.
“There is still stigma in discussing breast lumps, which leads to silence that aggravates cancer and finally necessitates advanced treatment for what could have been treated with early intervention. This vicious cycle has to be broken,” explained Shilpi Ghosh from Tata Trusts, while advocating for self-examination of lumps.
Chefs Sailaja Aechuri and Varaprasad Karthyaeni prepared tasty dishes such as tomato bath and pineapple kesari, with symbolic lumps, to explain how they impacted the delicacy’s texture. More than 400 women participated in the innovative campaign.
