CANCER AWARENESS: Campaign to be launched on Dec 1

Chandigarh, October 31, 2012: Based on the experience of the pilot project regarding Cancer Awareness and symptom based early detection campaign would  be launched in the state from  December 1, 2012 and would be accomplished within one month. This was revealed here today by Madan Mohan Mittal Health and Family Welfare Minister Punjab while interacting with the media persons at Punjab Bhawan Chandigarh.

The Minister stated that Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab in the last six months has been taking various initiatives for improved delivery of health services to the people of Punjab.  The state is facing the problem of both the communicable as well as non communicable diseases. One of the major challenges in the latter group before the state has been the problem of cancer.

The department has chalked out a gigantic plan of cancer awareness and symptom based early detection campaign by door to door visits. In light of the opinion of the experts District Faridkot had been selected as a pilot district for this campaign.

The Minister further said that with the approval of the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the pilot campaign was launched on Gandhi Jayanti. Special Secretary Health Government of India Keshav Desiraju specially came to Faridkot as a special invitee to the launch. The task has been completed within the stipulated time frame as part of which 744 teams of dedicated field workers have conducted the door to door visits and have covered the population of the district spread over 173 villages and the three cities of Faridkot, Kotkapura and Jaito. The work done by 502 field workers including  ASHAs, ASHA Facilitators, ANMs, Multipurpose health workers in Rural areas 242 teams of Nursing students in the urban areas has been commendable .

On the basis of  on preliminary compilation based on various symptoms the department had identified 2950 suspect cases while 785 persons have informed that they are suffering from cancer in  5,83,105 residents visited in 1,04,707 houses of the district.

The suspected cases are yet to be confirmed by taking them to the doctors in the health centres and specialists at secondary and tertiary level. However even on face value the figure of 132 per lakh population is not alarming.

The campaign has been duly monitored by a team headed by Smt. Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary Health & Family Welfare, Punjab internally, and external evaluation is being carried out by the experts of PGIMER Chandigarh as proposed by the President of Medical Council of India. Report is yet awaited.

After the analysis of the total data, the Department shall take further action regarding various steps including strengthening of manpower and infrastructure facilities

Prominent amongst those who were present on the occasion Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Vini Mahajan, Director Health and Family Welfare Ashok Nayyar, Executive Director State Health System Recsource Centre Pyare Lal Garg and Expert from the PGI Chandigarh J.S. Thakur