Hyderabad goes pink

For breast cancer awareness

The 2K Pink Ribbon Walk conducted to spread awareness on breast cancer received a tremendous response; prominent structures in the city such as the Charminar and Buddha statue were illuminated in pink for the cause

The slogan ‘Does your heart beat for early detection of breast cancer?’ struck a chord with Hyderabadis who extended support to the sixth edition of the 2K Pink Ribbon Walk organised by Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation (UBF) and KIMS-Ushalakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases, in association with the Association of Breast Surgeons of India on Sunday at KBR Park.

About 3,000 people from all walks of life, cancer survivors and their families participated and expressed solidarity with the Pink Ribbon campaign.

TRS MP K Kavitha was the chief guest and actor Rana Daggubati was the guest of honour at the event. Ananada Shankar Jayant along with other young breast cancer survivors participated in the event. Jayesh Ranjan of APIIC, Ramesh Prasad of Prasad’s IMAX, Parthasarathy of Karvy, were the other celebrities participated in the Pink Ribbon Walk.

Initiated by UBF in 2009, the Pink Ribbon Walk aims to create awareness about importance of early detection of breast cancer, salute survivors and their families in their fight against breast cancer.

In India, well over 1.3 lakh women are newly diagnosed with breast cancer every year; a staggering number that has overtaken cervical cancer to become the leading cause for death among women in metropolitan cities. Majority of breast cancer cases in India are present in the age group between 25- 50. More than 60 per cent of breast cancers in India are diagnosed in the advanced stage and hence death rate from breast cancer is also very high. Lack of awareness and absence of an organised national breast cancer screening programme are the main reasons accounting for late diagnosis.

In an effort to find an ‘Indian solution to Indian problems’ and detect breast cancer in the early stages, UBF, in partnership with Telangana Mahila Samatha Society and Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society, is implementing an innovative large scale population based breast cancer screening programme in eight districts of Telangana and seven districts of Andhra Pradesh and expects to screen 2 lakh underprivileged women for early signs of breast cancer before the end of 2015.

28,437 underprivileged women from the Hyderabad district were screened for signs of early breast cancer by way of Clinical Breast Examination (CBE). Breast cancers detected through this initiative underwent free treatment under the Rajiv Arogyasree Scheme. In time, it is anticipated that this screening programme would be extended to all the districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Prominent structures in the city like the Charminar, Buddha Statue, Prasads IMAX, Ravindra Bharati and KIMS Hospitals were illuminated in pink to support the fight against breast cancer.