Page 16 - Gears and Ears May 2014

From Rotary International

Fighting Breast Cancer

In Tamil Nadu, India, two doctors, both members of the

Rotary Club of Srirangam, discovered an alarming trend
in the remote city outskirts of Trichy, women dying of
breast cancer.

Drs. K. Govindaraj and K.N. Srinivasan knew that much

of the death and suffering could be avoided, and both
were motivated by their personal experiences with the
disease. Govindaraj watched his mother die of breast

cancer a decade earlier, and helped found the Dr. K.
Shantha Breast Cancer Foundation in her memory.
Srinivasan, an oncologist, witnessed unprecedented
growth in the number of younger patients coming to his
clinic with advanced stages of the disease.

According to the National Cancer Registry of India, 20 to 40 women per 100,000 are suffering from breast
cancer. And because many women lack the resources to travel to the city, or the$50 fee for proper screen-
ing , the doctors needed a unique approach. During a trip to South Korea, Govindaraj saw a large van

outfitted with X-ray equipment parked outside a mall, and thought a moving doctor’s office and lab -- or
“mammobus” -- could overcome the challenges they faced.

Through a Rotary global grant, the men were able to buy and outfit their own bus. Since April 2012 the

Shantha Foundation’s mammobus, supported by local Rotarians and the Rotary Club of Rockville, Mary-
land, USA, has administered 2,500 free breast cancer screenings. Early stage cancer has been detected
and treated in six women, and thousands have been taught how to conduct regular self-exams, an impor-
tant means of early detection.

“Women have started feeling that they have easy access to health without compromising their day-to-day
work and earnings,” Srinivasan says. “Women come out to our health workers with their health-related
problems and discuss freely about various aspects of health and diseases, not just about breast cancer.’’

Read the rest of this article at the Rotary International web site.

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