Pvt hosp organises marathon ahead of World Cancer Day in Besant Nagar

CHENNAI: With World Cancer Day approaching, a private hospital in the city organized a marathon to spread Cancer awareness in Besant Nagar on Sunday.

Over 3,500 people participated in 10km and 5km categories.

The 10 Km run was flagged off by Dr Prithika Chary, Senior Consultant Neurologist, Neurosurgeon and Chief Neurologist, who is also a Cancer Survivor.

Speaking about the initiative by Kauvery Hospital, she said, "Even being a doctor I ignored the symptoms of cancer. My cancer was Grade 3 but if I did the checkup 6 months earlier it might have been a lower grade. I was lucky! And I am a survivor with good quality of life. Routine health checkups can diagnose - pick up many cancers early".

Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases across the world. However, with advanced treatments and technologies cancer is now treatable.

"Though there has been an increase in diagnostics and screening facilities, the awareness on regular screening is still lacking among many. In its early stages, the symptoms may not be too intense or one cannot feel any pain, and hence certain symptoms like persistent ulcers, prolonged cough, blood in stools, lump in the breast or change of voice, white discharge in women, etc are often overlooked.

In some cases, cancer is detected during a regular health checkup, where the individual may not have realized the symptoms, " says Dr. A N Vaidhyswaran, Director Radiation Oncology, Kauvery Hospital Chennai.

The run also had a Mammo bus stationed at the venue which provided free mammogram screenings for women above 40 years of age.

The Mammo Bus will be stationed at different localities such as the Madras High court, Nokia office, Tidel Park, Ashok Leyland, RAPRA, RA Puram till 9th February 2023, in a phased manner.

Dr Aravindan Selvaraj, Co-Founder, and Executive Director of Kauvery Hospital said Cancer care has seen a lot of advancements in recent years, and we have a multi-modality and individualized approach in the treatments.

We are constantly trying to create awareness on cancer, and this is the first time we have organized a run with a massive gathering.