The Hindu : Karnataka News : Dispelling myths about cancer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Dispelling myths about cancer

By Sahana Charan

BANGALORE, MAY 1. "Living with dignity" is the slogan of the voluntary organisation, Cancer Information Centre (CIC). Started in February, the objective of the CIC is to provide information to patients to help them dispel cancer-related myths and misconceptions. The centre also aims at creating awareness about cancer among the public to eliminate the social stigma attached to the disease.

With these objectives in mind, the organisation, promoted by noted oncologists in Bangalore, will bring out a series of booklets on different types of cancer for the benefit of patients and their families. The first in the series is a booklet providing data on breast cancer, which will be released on June 26. Booklets to be released later will focus on oral cancer, stomach cancer, and ovarian and cervical cancer.

"The material will be brought out in English, Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil. The idea is to reach out to cancer patients who are groping in the dark and do not know whom to go to for accurate information on the disease," B.S. Srinath, surgical oncologist and president of the CIC, says. The centre will organise a concert by S.P. Balasubramaniam, and the proceeds of which will go towards publishing the booklets.

The CIC also wants to reach out to persons who were affected by the disease and have now come out of the ordeal. "This is a group the needs of which are not usually addressed. We give information on follow-up treatment and precautions to avoid recurrence. Patients might not get adequate information from their doctors on various aspects of the disease, and we want to be a link between those who have the disease and the medical fraternity," S.D. Datar, CIC chief coordinator, says.

The centre is the brainchild of Mr. Datar, who lost his wife to breast cancer and wanted to do something to help cancer patients. He trained at the American Cancer Society and other cancer institutes in the U.S. before setting up the CIC. Apart from Dr. Srinath, two other oncologists, Shekhar Patil and Vijay Ahuja, are associated with the centre.

The emotional needs of cancer patients are also addressed by the organisation. The centre has launched a Cancer Survivors' Network, through which cancer patients and survivors can meet and discuss problems. Mr. Datar says that there is a plan to group patients depending on the type of cancer they are suffering from, so that they can talk about common issues that affect them.

"Cancer patients need counselling to face the disease and to come to terms with the illness if it is terminal. Cancer survivors also need help as they may be shunned by members of society because of misconceptions about the disease. We provide regular counselling for such people and have conducted training programmes in cancer counselling for 20 volunteers," Mr. Datar says.

The CIC can be contacted on phone (23366103/26569322).

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