Indian Cancer Society, AstraZeneca launch cancer screening programme

The screening camps will focus on prevalent cancers such as oral, cervical and breast

Indian Cancer Society and AstraZeneca Pharma India announced the launch of a nationwide cancer awareness initiative – Cancer Screening for Women. Under this programme, free, specialised cancer-screening will be conducted across the country for women from underprivileged families. These screening camps will focus on prevalent cancers such as oral, cervical and breast and will follow a rigorous process to link the suspect cases with health care facilities for further management. The programme also aims to raise awareness about risk factors, symptoms, removing stigma, and promoting healthy lifestyle for cancer prevention. The first screening camp to mark this launch was held on World Cancer Day, at Indian Cancer Society, Mumbai, where over 100 women were screened.

Naveen Kshatriya, Honorary Secretary & Managing Trustee, of the Indian Cancer Society said, “With the increasing incidence of cancer cases in women, there is an urgent need to raise awareness about early cancer detection at grass-roots level. With this initiative, we aim to enable people to stay ahead of cancer through early detection and timely treatment.’’

Commenting on the occasion, Gagan Singh, Country President and Managing Director, AstraZeneca Pharma India said, “We are pleased to partner with Indian Cancer Society and other partners to achieve our shared vision of curing cancer through early detection. Women’s health is integrally linked to access to available resources and we believe that opportunistic screening with a robust framework to link them to the healthcare system is an important pathway to address this challenge.”

As part of Phase 1 of this programme, around 4000 women beneficiaries from vulnerable section of society will be screened in identified high priority district areas of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka with the help of mobile detection units with qualified technicians across urban and rural areas. In Phase 2, the specialised screening camps will be expanded to states in North and North – East India. The entire programme will run over the coming years.