Walkathon to raise awareness against Cancer in Ludhiana

Ludhiana, October 24, 2013: The month of October is celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide and also in India. The incidence of breast cancer is gradually increasing and it is estimated that 1 in 25 women in India have lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. It is a curable disease if detected early. Breast cancer is one of the few cancers where effective, relatively cheap and readily available screening test is available for early detection. It also enjoys celebrity status among all the cancers as lot of famous personalities have been affected by this disease and have later come forward to spread awareness among those at risk.

It all started with a handful of like-minded people coming together to form a society by the name CAN FIGHT CANCER with the objective of raising awareness against cancer and how early detection can play an instrumental role in improving the chances of survival.   Comprised of family members of cancer patients, medical professionals and survivors themselves, this society is a unique effort in the region and with continued efforts of all the members, it fast emerging as a support group for patients, their families and the general public.

The CAN FIGHT CANCER society has planned for a WALK-A-THON from RakhBagh to Rose Garden with an aim to raise the awareness among Ludhianvis regarding the breast cancer. This WALK-A-THON will include approximately 300 people irrespective of age, gender and socio-economic status. The marching men and women will comprise of cancer survivors and their families, families of those unfortunate patients who succumbed to cancer, political leaders, administrative leaders, health care professionals from CMC Ludhiana, senior citizens, KVM students/staff, members of members Freemasons Club, members of Lakshmi Ladies Club and other healthy volunteers. It will be flagged off from Rakh Bagh (opp Gate No 4) at 6.30 AM and is scheduled to reach Rose Garden at 7.15 AM. There will be a small quiz and interactive session at Rose Garden for 20 min followed by refreshments for participants before finally dispersing to our daily routine work and carrying the message of “Early Detection” along with us to be spread among our colleagues and families. Items such as hand outs listing tips, balloons, caps and wrist bands will be distributed to those participants who register for the event.

Dr. R.P. Jain, the President of the society said, “The idea behind organizing a walkathon is to encourage more and more people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and understand that screening and early detection can improve chances of survival. Strongly believing in the maxim, knowledge is power; it is important to educate people to make the right choices and support cancer prevention. We are also planning for educational visits to families of patients and institutions like schools in order to increase the participation in the fight against cancer.”

The event has been hugely supported from multiple fronts which further lays emphasis on the need to lift the shroud around the disease. It’s high time that rather than talking about cancer in hushed tones we raise our voice and efforts against it. The handout distributed says, walk towards making Ludhiana a city of hope.  We pray to GOD almighty to make this event a success and also pray for safety and prosperity for all involved in this event. www.cityairnews.com

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