‘Men must back their wives in fight against breast cancer’
AWARENESS MONTH Actor Padmini Kolhapure urges patients to complete treatment
LUCKNOW: Breast cancer survivors stressed on the importance of timely diagnosis and completing the treatment in defeating the disease at an awareness event organised at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) here on Saturday.
“There is nothing to fear but timely diagnosis and treatment is needed. Keep yourself happy and focused on completing the treatment. Do not leave it midway,” said a survivor Pushpa Tripathi at the programme organised by the Lucknow breast cancer support group.
Veteran actor Padmini Kolhapure was the chief guest at the event. Urging people to stay happy, she said, “We need to face the disease with a positive mindset, else how will we fight it? I ask husbands to support their wives in this fight. Mothers and mothers-in-law, as well as other family members, should also support the patient.” Emphasising on awareness, early diagnosis and getting complete treatment, Kolhapure said, “Stress can also cause diseases. So, one should always stay happy.” A survivor Beena said, “When I got my diagnosis, I was taken aback. However, gradually, as I came to know about the treatment (including surgery) and went through with it, I realised how important it was to complete the process.”
A video documentary, featuring Beena and another survivor Mehtab Khan, was shown to the audience at the programme. “Our household is not strong financially and I was the only earning member. But with determination, I got the treatment done,” said Mehtab.
Prof Anand Mishra, head of endocrine surgery at KGMU, said that awareness was the tool to combat the disease. “With awareness comes timely diagnosis -- at an early stage. At present, majority of patients reach diagnosis centres only after they are past the first stage,” he said. A group of 65 survivors, including two men, participated in a fashion show at the convention centre. “We wanted to show that life does not end if you happen to get the disease,” said Prof Mishra.