Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Awareness programme to combat cancer

Special Correspondent

FOR PREVENTION, DETECTION AND CURE: A student volunteer distributes pamphlets to the public in Coimbatore on Cancer Awareness Day on Tuesday. — PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

COIMBATORE: Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Oncology and Research and the Adyar Cancer Institute will conduct a two-day cancer awareness drive on November 9 and 10.

The programme includes an exhibition on the disease at Sri Ramakrishna Kalyana Mandapam.

Pamphlets

Director of the Institute P. Guhan told presspersons on Monday that pamphlets listing 24 types of cancer that afflicted children and adults would be given to the public as part of the awareness drive.

National Service Scheme volunteers from various colleges distributed over two lakh pamphlets among the public in Coimbatore, Erode and Nilgiris districts, on the National Cancer Awareness Day on Tuesday.

Dr. Guhan said 24 stalls would be put up, one for each type of cancer, so that the public could be provided information on each of these in detail.

A stall on the ill effects of tobacco use, such as smoking and chewing tobacco, would also sensitise people.

The institute already had a tobacco cessation clinic that offered counselling and rehabilitation to wean people away from such habits. Counselling would be provided at the stall, he said.

Women would be educated on breast cancer, self-examination to detect it and also the need to undergo mammogram for early detection and effective treatment.

Pap smear for the detection of cancer in the cervix, tobacco as the cause for oral cancer and various factors that cause cancer in other parts of the body would be highlighted.

An important component of the programme would be dispelling myths about cancer such as `cancer did not affect children' and `pain was the first sign of the disease'.

Another myth the institute wanted to expose was the belief that pap smear test caused pain.

Free ward

The exhibition would also showcase the free ward at the institute for children who suffered from cancer.

The ward was for those people who could not afford the cost of treatment and needed contributions from philanthropists.

Dr. Guhan said people could contribute for individual patients after learning of their requirements.

He said that this was a quicker process than forming a trust to which the money could be sent.

"This way, the donors also will get to know who the patients are and even confirm that the money goes only to them," he said.

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