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Vasantha Shiksha - a course on cancer for the lay man was conducted on the 26th & 27th July at the W.R.I.C. Seminar Hall, University, Kalina, Mumbai. This was an attempt to train lay man & through them reach awareness to the deepest pockets of the community.

Despite heavy rains the course was attended by 53 enthusiastic participants, which included laymen, social workers, volunteers of the Trust and doctors. 12 sessions, each of 45 minutes duration were conducted. Dr. Farah Jijina & Dr.Asha Shah anchored the program.

Dr.Jayalakshmi Chandran inaugurated the program by lighting the lamp and by delivered the inaugural speech on general signs & symptoms of cancer.

Dr.Mamta Manglani, LTMG ( Sion )Hospital speaking on Cancers in Children stated that cancers in children are as curable as any other disease. Dr. Asha Shah , Brahmakumaris Hospital explained about the various types of Blood Cancers & their treatment including bone marrow transplantation.

Dr. R.Badwe, Breast cancer Surgeon from Tata Memorial Hospital gave an excellent talk on Breast Cancer. He gave a comparison between our lifestyle and western lifestyles and stated that the incidence of breast cancer is more in western countries and even then we have a false concept that “WEST IS BEST” The incidence of Breast Cancer in India is 1 out of 50 whereas it is 1 out of 12 in Europe and 1 out of 8 in USA. He urged women to do monthly self exam & ease early detection.

Dr .Meenakshi,Tata Memorial hospital detailed on how mammography helps to detect breast cancer &stressed upon the need for women above 40 years of age to undergo a mammography every 2 years.

Dr. Sachin Almel , Hinduja Hospital , spoke to the participants about Cancers of the Stomach& Gastro intestinal tract. He explained about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment procedures. Diagnostic procedures include Barium swallow, Endoscopic biopsy, CT Scan. Surgery followed by Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy is the standard line of treatment.

Dr.Sanjay Kantharia, Sanjeevani hospital, said that bone cancer normally presents itself in the advanced stage. The common symptom of bone cancer is a pathological fracture, a fracture, which is caused because of cancer cells eating into the bone marrow. He explained the various types and symptoms of bone cancer. He stressed upon the need for intake of at least 3 glasses of milk per day after the age of 35.

Dr.Dilip Murarka, Breach Candy Hospital , addressed on ill effects of Tobacco. His excellent slide show on Ill effects of Tobacco was self-explanatory. He stated that one-third of all cancers are tobacco related. Ways and means to quit usage of tobacco were also discussed. Dr Murarka has consented to help us spread the message of “QUIT TOBACCO” among school children in Mumbai.

Dr. Ashwini Bhalerao, Hinduja hospital, spoke to the participants about “Cancers In Women”. Cervical Cancer, Ovarian Cancer and Endometrial Cancer were the topics discussed. She also explained about Pap smear test and advised ladies to undergo a Pap smear test, once every 2 years, after the age of 30.Dr. Phanse, Gurunanak hospital, explained about the symptoms, diagnostic procedures & treatment modalities of Lung, Prostate &Kidney cancer. Lung cancer in the early stage is often asymptomatic. Blood tinged sputum is a symptom of lung cancer but it is quite often misinterpreted as TB. Lung cancer is the leading form of cancer in urban India. Dr. Phanse also stated that 80% of males get prostate cancer. Benign tumours of the kidney are extremely rare. There is no effective chemotherapy for kidney cancer.

Dr. Vivek Anand, Hinduja hospital, emphasized that Brain tumours never spread from the Brain to other parts of the body and cancer starts from a single cell. The incidence of Brain tumour is high in children between age 3-14 and adults aged 40-70.

The program was rounded off with a Self-assessment session for the participants. Most of the participants did very well and credit goes to the doctors for effectively conducting the training program. The Trust profusely thanks all the doctors, volunteers and participants also extends sincere appreciation and thanks to Mr. Chandran, Shamrao Vithal Bank&Dolphin Infotech for sponsoring this event.

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This short summary vividly illustrates my most gratifying experiences as a volunteer for “Vasantham”, conducting about a dozen cancer awareness camps in villages, housing complexes, high schools and ladies associations in and around Coimbatore.

In the villages, it was an effort to mobilize them and convince them to attend our presentation. They were skeptical about these four or five well-dressed individuals coming in a car from a big city as to what our ulterior motive was. Once they were convinced that we are not selling any products but would like to tell them a few helpful things they can remember about cancer, they congregated. In spite of telling them that it was just an awareness session and a medical camp would be set up in their village in a month’s time, at the end of the presentation there was a long line of people with medical reports and current health problems to get free medical advice.

The level of interest and interaction was high in all settings. The questions revolved around tobacco and alcohol quitting programs in the villages to the level of pesticides and its harm in Coca Cola in the urban settings. They were quite appreciative of our efforts and promised to spread what they have learnt to their near and dear. We also succeeded in motivating a few individuals who were interested in volunteering for “Vasantham”. All in all, I am extremely happy that I found this opportunity to share what I know to my fellow bretheren and hope that this project flourishes and continues to reach people in every nook and corner of Coimbatore and Mumbai.

- Dr. Indra Balachandran

Dr. Indra Balachandran, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Dept. of Bioscience & technology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA volunteered for the Trust in July & August. 03 .The Trust commends her gesture & appeals many more to simulate it.

My imagination was a crowd of 40-50 people sitting anxiously ,village president or panchayat Executive waiting for us & introduce us to the crowd & then we commence or talk. To my astonishment it was totally different. When we reached there were 3 children playing & an old man smoking & keenly listening to a cine song playing from the local tea shop. Two guys then passed by us staring with inquiring eyes. “ How insulting, ? how can they be so unconcerned ? were the initial thoughts. Then we took upon the task of gathering people & literally went door to door .The two became twenty , twenty became thirty & more.

There was initial reluctance to hear what we had to say. But as the talk progressed they found to be pertinent to them & they got involved totally. Attention was paid to every word uttered, relevant questions were asked & pledges of quitting tobacco made spontaneously. At places a person affected with cancer came out spoke about his condition & wished such dispersal of knowledge was done before he was affected. The indifferent attitude transformed to one of appreciation & thankfulness. A sense of gratification enveloped me . This motivates me to do more & today I feel that a day without a talk is a day lost in life !

-Mr. M.Sethuraman

Mr.M.Sethuraman Retd. Mangement & project consultant, Coimbatore, volunteer of the Trust, has been given nearly 50 talks in the last 3 months during Vasantham at various places. The trust appreciates his deep sense of commitment & hopes that he will inspire many others.

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VLB Jankiammal Polytechnic college & Community extension centres in Thitipalaym & Chetipalyam had awareness programs on 'Cancer in Women' conducted by Trust volunteers Ms. R.P.Narmadha & Ms. Dhanalakshmi.

The hundred plus mixed audience of Student, teachers & Rural women interacted well & requested for screening camps. Similar sessions will follow in other colleges.

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Aadi the 4th month in the Tamil calendar is considered one of the inauspicious months. Nothing worthwhile is done or begun. But one thing which is done avariciously in Coimbatore is shopping for clothes. Every cloth stores offers heavy discounts & apparently capitalizing on this are scores of Coimbatoreans. The shops are virtually mobbed & sarees are carried away by the dozens. ‘I will wear a new one each day or more’ is the triumphant cry heard. Does she need so many.? May be yes , maybe no, but at that point of time it is the greed for more & more. Why the more? More means I am more great, I will stand out. Would she really ?

No doubt the shops offer discount, but more the discount poorer the quality of the cloth. She buys a larger number of lesser quality stuff which lasts for shorter time. Soon she will have to buy more. In effect isn't she a loser ?Would she be great?

Escaping the suctions of such Twisters & struggling to seek happiness of others life, of those affected with cancer are a bunch of people from Coimbatore, Mumbai & other places who have enrolled themselves as Volunteers of the Trust. To them being great is so see that the most precious gift given to all of us—LIFE - is retained in the cancer affected & more meaning is added to it. Don’t you want to be one of them ...

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Cancer of Testes commonly affects Young adult men of age group between 20- 40 years. In India many people wrongly identify their testes as Kidney It is unfortunate that even educated men have such idea. Over all the number of Testicular Cancer patients are less. But it is significant in two aspects. One it effects young men and two if diagnosed and treated early, it has more than 95% of cure rare .

How do we find them or Suspect them?
Like any other Cancer the early warning is the swelling of Testes with no or less pain. Men Should feel their Testes during their bath and if there is any suspicion of swelling or increase in the size they should consult a doctor. Unfortunately Hydrocele (a medical condition where fluid collects around the Testes) is very common in our country which may look like Cancer of Testes. A Qualified Doctor or an Ultra Sound Scan will differentiate between the two. The other manifestations are lumps in abdomen ,weight loss and poor appetite

Diagnosis
Careful examination of the Testes Will Diagnose Testes Cancer. 95% of Testicular Swelling are likely to be malignant. Swelling of structures close to Testes, like Tunica ,epididymis, vas and cord structures are most likely to benign.

Ultrasound scan is a Simple test that is more helpful to diagnose the tumor as well as its spread to the lymph nodes in abdomen. Blood levels of HCG, Alpha feto protein (AFP) may be elevated in cases were cancer has spread beyond testes.

Treatment
Surgery: Removal of the affected Testes is always necessary, It also tells us the type of malignancy and the severity of the tumour .Sometimes removal of the affected lymph glands in the abdomen may be necessary

Chemotherapy
Drugs are very effective in preventing as well as curing the secondary deposits in lymph glands and in the lungs Semen from unmarried men and in married men who wants to have children can be stored in the Freezer before Starting Chemotherapy

Radiotherapy Some times used to eradicates secondary deposits in the lymph glands

-Dr. M.Nehru Babu,
Consultant Urologist, KMCh, Cbe

Cancer Basics

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