District Collector Shri Narayana Reddy, launches Cancer Screening, organized by Grace Cancer Foundation & Indur Cancer Hospital!
Nizamabad: Grace Cancer Foundation and Indur Cancer Hospital, in partnership with the Government of Telangana, are organizing a first of its kind yearlong Comprehensive Cancer Screening Campaign, in the Country, covering the population above 21 years of age in Nizamabad District. The Campaign was formally launched by the Nizamabad District Collector Shri Narayana Reddy garu, today, at the Indur Cancer Hospital, on the eve of World Cancer Day. The thrust of the camp is on Screening of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes hypertension, heart health, obesity and Cancer. Also present on the occasion were Dr Pratima Raj, Medical Superintendent, Govt Hospital, Nizamabad; Shri Rajeshwar Rao, MLC; Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli, CEO, Grace Cancer Foundation; Dr Kandra Prasanth, CEO, Indur Cancer Hospital; Dr Suri, Medical Superintendent, Indur Cancer Hospital; Mr Kiran, Business Advisor, Indur Cancer Hospital.
Shri Narayana Reddy garu, speaking on the occasion said, Cancer awareness is grossly lacking in the rural areas, treatment is inaccessible in remote places and have to go to Hyderabad for care, besides being prohibitively expensive for the rural folk. The earlier notion of Cancer being an urban disease is no more true, even rural population is being afflicted significantly. For our elders’ healthy lifestyle was an indelible part of their life, they slept early and for sufficient time, ate nutritious food, exerted themselves enough by attending to physical work. Today the scenario is completely different. A book I read on relieving stress emphasized on the three essential elements of life, ‘Eat, Sleep and Walk’, today we are deprived of all three, sleeping time is curtailed, eating junk food, fertilizers, pesticide ridden toxic food is the norm, in fact food has become a slow poison off late, walking is completely ignored. When these three lose their balance, health becomes a cause for concern. Ignoring the healthy habits of our ancestors is making us easily susceptible to dreaded diseases like cancer. The people of Nizamabad district should feel really fortunate, considering the difficulties in seeking cancer treatment, as the specialists themselves are coming to your area and doing screening for everyone. It’s a commendable initiative by Grace Cancer Foundation and Indur Cancer Hospital, they are bringing the inaccessible and expensive cancer care within the reach of the people with no profit motto. I laud Dr Chinnababu, for his zeal to reach out cancer screening to the rural poor with his buses equipped with modern diagnostics moving from village to village every day and doing screening. On behalf of the Government, we assure complete support for this initiative. I request the district officials to utilize this opportunity fully, create sufficient awareness among people to avail the facility to the maximum.
Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli said, Grace Cancer Foundation and Indur Cancer Hospital are initiating a first of its kind and never heard before cancer intensive screening program in Nizamabad district. Every day we will screen at least 100 to 200 people, with the bus going from village to village. We are also getting excellent support from the Government for this campaign. World over lifestyle disease incidence is on the rise, especially those related to Diabetes, Obesity, Hypertension, Cancer and Heart diseases. The best part is, such non-communicable diseases can be detected early. Grace Cancer Foundation has done more than a thousand camps till now, from that we could detect at least 15% of the population being afflicted of diabetes and hypertension. We are going to people and detecting such ailments in them even before they are aware of it, with a honest service motto to do good to the people. We are also leveraging technology by using Artificial intelligence and Machine learning and generating medical reports without human intervention. We want people to come forward, avail this service and benefit from it. Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) have become a major public health concern in India accounting for 62% of the total burden of foregone DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) and 53% of total deaths. Out-of-pocket expenditure associated with the acute and long-term effects of NCDs is high, resulting in catastrophic health expenditure for the households. The vision of Grace Foundation is to reach out to every human being irrespective of their socio-economic status and to ensure they have an equal access to advanced medical care, he adds.
This extensive cancer screening campaign involves the state-of-the-art mobile cancer screening bus equipped with advanced diagnostics like mammography, Ultrasound, X-Ray and Pap smear facilities, moving from one location to other as per the pre-designated schedule. The camps will be organized through the PHCs of the respective areas in coordination with the DMHO of Nizamabad, with the initial phase being focused on Rural Nizamabad. This mega screening initiative will screen on an average two hundred high risk people per day, covering over sixty thousand high risk groups in a year. Before the event an intensive door to door awareness campaign will be done in the respective areas.
The Camps will screen population above 21 years of age in the district, especially women without history of hysterectomy and men with history of smoking or tobacco chewing. The investigations will include Clinical Examination by Doctor, Awareness Session, Oral Examination, Blood Pressure, BMI, Chest X-Ray, Ultrasound, Mammography, FNAC, PAP Smear, GRBS, FBS, Hepatitis ‘B’ & ‘C’, PFT and CEA. Advanced technologies of A.I. and Telemedicine will be leveraged to reduce the cost of cancer detection. A Lifestyle coach will be counselling and motivating the participants to modify unhealthy practices, especially sedentary lifestyles and consumption of tobacco products.
The Camps will be hosted in a phased manner at the PHCs in Armoor, Balkonda, Banswada, Bheemgal, Bhiknur, Bichkunda, Birkoor, Bodhan, Dichapally, Domakonda, Gandhari, Jakranpally, Jukkal, Makloor, Morthad, Naga Reddipet, Nandipet, Navipet, Nizam Sagar, Pitlam, Ranjal, Sadasivanagar, Sirikonda, Tadwai and Varni.
Dr Pratima Raj, said, Awareness about Cancer is negligible amongst people. Often Cancer is construed to be end of life, but we should make people patients aware that even 3rd and 4th stage Cancer patients are treatable, and they can survive from such advanced cancers too. Grace Cancer Foundation organizing this screening with a special bus going from village to village is truly laudable. The Bus has advanced diagnostic equipment, a test called mammography available in the bus is being provided free of cost, while outside the same costs Rs 2000 to Rs 3000. People detected with disease can seek free treatment under Arogyasri.
Dr Kandra Prasanth said, Cancer has four stages, most of the time patients come to the hospital at an advanced stage of 3 or 4, the treatment and recovery from the advanced stage of cancer becomes difficult. The main objective of this Screening camp is to detect cancer in advance by identifying the symptoms early. The most prevalent cancers are mouth and lung cancers in men and breast and cervical cancers in women, more than 50% of cancer patients suffer from these four. To get the cancer tests done patients have to come to Nizamabad from remote places, instead our bus will come to your place and do expensive tests costing Rs 4000 to Rs 5000, for free. Through this Mega Screening Camp, we will cover the entire Nizamabad population in a year’s time.
Shri Rajeshwar Rao said, Cancer was unknown when I was young, later though it was detected there was no cure for cancer. Today the numbers are rising, many are falling victim to cancer and there is treatment for Cancer. Cancer patients from Adilabad and Nizamabad are compelled to go to Hyderabad to seek treatment at their expense, however with the setting up of Indur Cancer Hospital in Nizamabad, they need not go that far and come here. The screening camp being conducted by Grace Cancer Foundation and Indur Cancer Hospital will help and serve people of Nizamabad by providing free screening and detect cancer early.