To raise awareness about cancer, especially among the rural population, a Delhi-based hospital has conducted a special drive to reach out to hundreds of village school teachers and sarpanchs.
In the run up to World Cancer Day on February 4, the BLK Super Specialty Hospital organised a ceremony on Saturday to felicitate sarpanchs each of whom contributed to this campaign by sensitising 100 families in his village and convinced them to attend the Cancer Talks and the cancer screening camps organised by the hospital.
The campaign which started in December, and so far has covered nearly 65 villages. Around 700 teachers in outer Delhi and Haryana actively contributed in spreading awareness about the disease in their villages and schools, a hospital official said.
According to the official, the felicitation ceremony was attended by nearly 50 sarpanches from Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh, Badli, Khorkhoda, Rohtak, Sonipat, Gannaur and outer Delhi villages.
Dr Surender K Dabas, Director of Surgical Oncology and the Chief of Robotic Surgery at BLK Cancer Centre, said, "Much needs to be done to break barriers, including the stigma on cancer, particularly in rural areas where it is a taboo."
Senior consultant, Gynecologic Oncology, Dr Neha Kumar said in urban areas, women are aware about gynecologic cancer. But in rural areas, due to social barriers and lack of comprehensive healthcare facilities, people do not talk about it."
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