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Mansar, Nagpur, an educated woman told me, it took her six months to disclose to her husband about her lump that turned out to be Cancer.
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- MUMBAI: I met a Stage 4 educated Breast Cancer advocate – When I asked, “why so late?” Her response was – “I was shy to talk about it & I did not know a lump could be cancer”. Just imagine, if this is the situation in Mumbai, what would be the scenario in other remote places in India?
- Patiala, Punjab: A Professor’s mom was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Apparently, his mom discussed with his dad last year (2018) but his father was reluctant to understand the importance of the condition & absolutely ignored. Many more cases like this came forward after the sessions – families feeling helpless with guilt for ignoring the situation due to lack of knowledge.
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Kolkata, RN Tagore Hospital: A nurse told me, many times, they don't announce beforehand that they are organizing a camp on CANCER awareness, people fear the word so much, they avoid coming.
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Mahbubnagar, State of Telangana: After the session, a couple comes to me in tears - their mother got detected with Breast Cancer 6 months back, and doctor advised surgery & further treatment. The family was told by friends & neighbors, Cancer means, end of Life, so what is the purpose of going over the treatments at this age - 60 years? I could see the repentance on the son's face because now they knew - Cancer can be cured & he was wondering if six month delay is already late. I would say - it is never too late, we need to fight back as a family with a strong support system through the concept of Palliative care!
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Dalu tea garden, This year, 2019, many deaths due to Breast Cancer & after the session, through our screening, we detected ~8-9 women with lump or discharges
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During outreaches in schools, colleges, universities, so many girls & boys told me about their family members, being lost with Breast Cancer but they never faced the courage to discuss with anyone thinking it’s not appropriate to mention “Breast” Cancer. The outreach sessions opened their eyes and they started to respect the lives they lost by discussing the stories
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ISOLATION: In a remote village, I went to see a Breast Cancer stage 4 patient – she was lying on the floor – when asked, the family said “Cancer will spread from her to the members” … half of the population still think that Cancer in contagious. During my sessions on Palliative care, many survivors/patients come forward “You are talking about villages? The scenario is the same even in cities. I faced the same discomfort & isolation when I was diagnosed with Cancer. Many people started to avoid me when they got to know."
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I met doctors, researchers, students from various educational institutes post-sessions, telling me stories of how their colleagues, moms of their friends, acquaintances, died of Breast Cancer due to late detection. One of the examples, NIT Jalandhar, Punjab, where I heard similar story.
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