Srinagar, 30 Oct: The first ever ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Generation and Interactive Mega-event’, PinKayakithon, was held on Sunday at Nigeen Bagh in Srinagar under the aegis of the Association of Breast Surgeons of India (ABSI) in partnership with Kashmir Cancer Awareness Network (Kashmir CAN).
The event’s organizer and renowned Breast & Colorectal Oncosurgeon, Dr. Shabnam Bashir, told Rising Kashmir that the goal of the event was to raise awareness of Breast Cancer and its effects.
The event featured a kayak race and a walkathon to highlight the value of exercise in preventing diseases, notably breast cancer.
Dr. Shabnam Bashir said that Breast cancer has become a great killer over the last decades. Now it is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the reproductive age group. About 23 lakh new cases occur each year across the globe. Of these 10% (2.23 lakh cases) are reported from India, resulting in around 1 lakh deaths every single year. On a regional level, maximum cases occur in Delhi followed by Chennai, Bangalore, and Trivandrum in that order. According to the Reginal Cancer Registry, Kashmir, in 2016, 4336 new cases of breast cancer were registered in the SKIMS, Soura – that comes to roughly 15 new cases every single day.
“This underscores the dire need of making women fully aware of breast cancer, its early detection by screening, seeking medical help as early as possible, and more importantly, knowing preventive measures, including lifestyle changes so that breast cancer does not snatch precious lives from the family and society”, she said
Dr. Shabnam Bashir and other expert speakers like renowned medical oncologist Prof. Shaad Saleem elaborated on different aspects of cancer self-detection, screening methods, and the importance of strong suspicion by the woman as well as her doctor, and of earliest possible detection. It was emphasized that one-third of cancer deaths are attributable to behavioral and dietary factors, such as obesity (excessive body weight), lack of physical exercise, low fruit and vegetable intake, and tobacco and alcohol use.
On the occasion, the Kayak Race & Walkathon both were flagged off by a young cancer survivor.
Dr. Shabnam Bashir also expressed her gratitude to the District Development Commissioner Srinagar Mohammad Aijaz Asad and the Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar Rakesh Balwal, CMO Srinagar Dr. Jameel Mir, and BMO Hazratbal Dr. Farah for their help in executing the event smoothly.
