Breast Cancer Campaigns in the Western India  - Mumbai & Pune

April 14, 2008 Breast Cancer Initiative 2008

March 05, 2008 Bollywood kicks in with Football

October 30, 2007 Helping Hands - Awareness at your doorstep

December 08, 2007 Pink calendar from Bollywood

November 09, 2006, Laughter and Cancer

Breast cancer will become an epidemic in India in another 10 years if the country does not put in place a vigorous mechanism for early detection and an awareness building exercise, said Umberto Veronesi, the father of modern breast cancer surgery.

"The first priority in the campaign against breast cancer in India is early detection, which is fundamental. It makes the difference between life and death," Veronesi said.

The 83-year-old Italian oncologist is the scientific director of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan in Italy, a non-profit medical organization that spearheads cutting edge researches on cancer and cures.

He was in India to address the Indian Breast Cancer Initiative 2008 at the Artemis Superspeciality Hospital in Gurgaon in Haryana.

"The second most important thing is to convince women - to raise the level of women consciousness - and the third priority is to convince the government to equip hospitals and health facilities across the country with mammography machines for detection and all the allied technology required for a big intervention programme."

"Then comes the task of convincing doctors that mastectomy is not the only way out. Doctors here in India have a very fatalistic approach to breast cancer.

Veronesi called for a women's movement. "India needs a change. It is growing richer and the healthcare system must be reconsidered. Women, especially in the semi-urban areas and Tier 2 cities, should be told that they are important to society and efforts must be made to preserve their health," he said.

Bollywood glitterati played in a charity football match raise funds for cancer patients on Tuesday here.

Several actors including Salman Khan, his brother Sohail Khan, comedian and Member of Parliament Govinda and newcomer Ranbir Kapoor donned dark blue football jerseys to showcase their football skills against a Pune XI in a tournament organised by the 'Abhijit Kadam Memorial Foundation' ,

The actors won the match with the scoreline reading 9-5.

A group of volunteers from Helping Hand, a non-government organisation working with cancer patients, offer to bring breast cancer check-ups to their doorstep.  Since its inauguration on September 29 to mark the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the mobile mammography van has conducted check-ups on 400 women in several of the city’s suburbs including Mulund, Wadala, Vashi, Borivili, Malad, Andheri and Chembur.

‘In the Pink’ is an initiative aimed at raising finances for breast cancer awareness. The brainchild behind this noble cause are Dalbir Bains along with Vicki Treadell - the British Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai.

The calendar  featuring  stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Dia Mirza, Neil Mukesh, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, and Kunal Kapoor was unveiled by Neil Mukesh at a function in Mumbai. This would be available for sale at Rs. 500 from December 15, 2007.

Dr. Madan Kataria spoke at the 3rd Asia-Pacific Breast Cancer Survival Conference in Mumbai on the Healing Effects of Laughter in Cancer Patients. He mentioned that medical studies around the world have shown that ten minutes of hearty laughter has a sudden and dramatically powerful effect in strengthening the immune system.

A weak immune system is a major causative factor in the development of cancer. Scientific studies have proved that hearty laughter has a powerful and immediate strengthening effect on our immune system.

Laughter quickly increases immunoglobulin levels that help fight infection and increases the number of Natural Killer Cells (NK cells) in the blood. Natural killer cells play a key role in cancer prevention.

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