It is not Women’s Day nor is World Cancer Day, but the intention was to spread the awareness about this disease among women in the city and to empower women. City-based Rotary Club of Coimbatore partnered with The Arc Foundation and hosted one such awareness event called 'I Think Pink; at PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, for the women students of this college. Around 300 students of this college participated in this awareness meet.
Dr Karthiga Sivaprakasam, Radiation Oncologist from the G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial (GKNM) Hospital educated the audience about cancer that affects women. “The number of women who are diagnosed with cancer including breast cancer in India has increased. Earlier, women were diagnosed with breast cancer while they were over 40-years of age. However, breast cancer has not spared the young women. Early diagnosis can help in possible cure. Women must get screened for breast cancer at least once a year.”
Seconding her was another guest speaker who said “Prevention is better than cure. One of the best ways to prevent this disease is to get vaccinated. In the western countries vaccinations for HIV/AIDS is also common. However, in India it is not so popular.” Dr. Madhulika Vijayakumar, Medical Oncologist, PSG Hospital said.
In the interactive session that followed, the specialists answered a few questions from the students. One of the women students wanted to know if cancer is hereditary. Dr Karthiga shared “A few cancers are hereditary. When we identify symptoms of certain cancer in patients we check with the patient medical history of the family.”
Another student asked if cancer when treated with chemotherapy can be cured? Dr Karthiga said “This entirely depends on what stage the cancer is detected. If cancer is diagnosed at an early stage and when the right chemotherapy is given, 90% to 95% of the cancer can be treated. Thus, the longevity of the patient increases. However, the problem arises when the cancer reoccurs in the patient.”
When one of the women students asked the specialists at what age are women more prone to breast cancer, in a jiffy came the reply from Dr. Madhulika “Earlier women who were over 40-years old were vulnerable to breast cancer. However, now breast cancer has gotten younger and I have a 28-year old patient who is suffering from breast cancer.”
After this informative and educative session on cancer awareness, transgender person Tasleema Nasreen took the stage and spoke about her life and journey so far. She motivated her audience to work towards empowering the transgender community.