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MKC ROKO CANCER CHARITABLE TRUST PROFILE Ajinder Pal Singh Chawla, A visionary behind MKC (Manjit Kaur Chawla) Trust, the trust was launched at London by Chawla Family in memory of Mr. APS Chawla’s wife, who lost her life to breast cancer at a very early age. Mr. Chawla is working with Cherie Blair, Baroness Verma, Lord Karan Billimoria, Lord Dholokia, Julliete Foster, Geoff Hoon MP, Dominique Greaves MP Sandra Howard, Sarah Kennedy, Penny Spears, Gurinder Chadha, JR Buscombe MSc,MD,FRCP and many other prominent dignitaries in UK to highlight the disease among ethnic minorities. ROKO CANCER CHARITABLE TRUST is an NGO working towards the cause of creating Awareness and Detection of Breast Cancer among women living in the urban, semi urban and rural areas of India with Many Prominent figures in India helping this drive.. The charity will also be conducting awareness camps for Cervix, Prostate and Oral Cancer in the coming months. “ROKO”-The Asian word means STOP CANCER Our mission is to capacitate the far flung semi urban and rural belt that are incapacitated, with the buzzword of AWARENESS ON CANCER with the slogan “Early Detection leads to cure”. An effort that voiced its appeal loud and clear “Roko Cancer” - It could happen to you. The movement gained momentum in 2005 and as volunteers and cause driven partners joined hands globally, Roko Cancer’s clarion call started reaching out its buzzword of “awareness” to the far flung rural and semi urban areas at a fast and furious pace in India and soon in other regions also. A first ever Mobile Cancer Detection bus that takes a journey for a cause through the tough terrains of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,Karnataka,Goa,Maharashtra is venturing into other states also. It inspires an undying spirit of waging a war against ignorance towards Cancer globally. The campaign in India is led by Isha Bhandari, Director Operations, India with a mission of the trust to launch a number of Mobile detection units in all parts of India. Our challenge is to fight Breast Cancer, Cervix Cancer, Prostate and Oral Cancer with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help men and women help themselves and their families by providing awareness on Cancer, Detection, Sharing knowledge, Empowerment and Build Capacity.

OBJECTIVES Awareness on Breast Cancer, Cervix Cancer, Prostate and Oral Cancer leading to other cancers gradually. Sharing Knowledge through education programmes Empowerment of women Capacity Building Detection through the Fully Equipped Mobile especially Breast cancer

Cancer Detection Units

Cancer is on a rise and we need to create awareness. The punch line is Ignorance Kills, Awareness is empowering and if it is detected early, it can lead to cure. Myth versus Truth Myth – Cancer happens to others. Truth - Cancer does not always happen to others. Myth – Cancer is a death sentence. Truth - Cancer is a word not a death sentence, if detected early can be cured. The biggest Myth – there is nothing I can do to prevent Cancer. The cancer rates are set to increase at an alarming rate globally. We can make a difference by taking action today. We have the opportunity to stem this increase. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an organization established by the World Health Organization, estimates that an approximately 80,000 women in India are affected by Breast Cancer each year. Other estimates place the number of cases in India to about 1, 00,000 women each year. There will be approximately 2, 50,000 new cases of breast cancer in India by 2015. The Indian Council of Medical Research is of the view that “breast cancer has overtaken cervix cancer to become the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women living in metropolitan cities. Dr. Umberto Veronesi, the Scientific Director of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and also known as the Father of the modern breast cancer surgery, believes that “Breast Cancer will become an epidemic in India in another 10 years if the country does not put in place a vigorous mechanism for early detection and an awareness building exercise”. Early detection would be fundamental in such an

initiative. “The second most important thing is to convince women – to raise the level of women consciousness – and the third priority is to convince the government to equip hospitals and health facilities across the country with mammography machines for detection and all the allied technology required for a big intervention programme. Then comes the task of convincing doctors that mastectomy is not the only way out and include in the repertoire of their treatment protocols initiatives towards maximum breast conservation, along with hormone and chemotherapies”. “Even two generations age, India was not the high incidence zone. That was because Indian women married early and nursed two to three children each on an average. That kept the hormones flowing and breasts remained healthy. But now, women in India are emulating the West, marrying late and average child bearing age has increased to 30 and sometimes even beyond that. If a woman has her first child at 16, it reduces the risk of breast cancer”, says Dr. Veronesi. This significant increase in incidence of Breast Cancer could be traced to changes in life styles, lack of awareness, absence of a screening programme, and, lack of quality curative service. More than 50 percent of the patients are diagnosed with Breast Cancer at an advanced stage of the disease leading to avoidable high mortality. The health care network for the disease ranges from peripheral hospitals with basic facilities to few specialized hospitals with specialized Oncology services in Metropolitan Cities. There is now growing recognition of the need for early diagnosis through screening through social mobilization initiatives with community as a critical stakeholder, comprehensive and treatment facilities, and well-recognized treatment protocols. It is believed that detection of Breast Cancer in stage I has almost a 90 percent chance of cure; it has a zero percent chance of cure in stage III. Cancer rates could further increase by 50% to 15 million new cases in the year 2020, according to the World Cancer Report, the most comprehensive global examination of the disease to date. The report also reveals that cancer has emerged as a major public health Problem in developing countries, matching its effect in industrialized nations. Medical experts attribute the decline in breast cancer deaths to earlier detection. The developing world is expected to account for more than half of all cancer cases in the world by 2020 say medical experts. Cancer may strike as many as 7 million people a year in Asia by 2020, straining health systems in countries that can least afford it. The WHO is also warning that Asia's annual death toll from cancer, currently at about 4 million, could reach 6.4 million by 2030 if current trends continue. Roko Cancer in the past months has examined more than 20,000 women, about 5300 Mammograms and detected about 325 positive cases in its camps in Punjab, UP and Delhi.

PARTNERS The Roko Cancer Charitable Trust works through cause-driven partners and volunteers in India. Our Research Support partner is Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Institute, UK which is the largest research Institute in UK and in Delhi we have partnered with Delhi State Cancer Institute. It has also found valuable partners in• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Stree Shakti Programme of the Government of Delhi, FICCI Ladies Organization, Young Women’s Christian Association, Young Men’s Christian Association, India Habitat Centre’s Habitat Learning Centre, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (New Delhi), Freemasons, Rotarians, Indian Medical Association, Gandhi Medical College (Bhopal), Omkarnath Movement (Kolkatta), Mahamilan Vidyapith (Kolkatta), Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (Babrala in Uttar Pradesh), Delhi State Cancer Institute, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (Hyderabad, Chandigarh & Delhi). Indian Airforce India Army Resident Welfare Association Other NGO Partners

Such relationship building is attempted with a view to creating a very effective referral base for the treatment of positive cases identified through the screening process. The ROKO Cancer Campaign hopes to develop a set of best practices in the form of Treatment Protocols for Cancer Cases. VISION We are crossing international borders as we are initiating our campaign in Pakistan in the coming months whereby the Mobile breast cancer detection unit will travel to Pakistan to do free awareness and detection camps for the women. Negotiations are going on for the unit to travel to Bangladesh and other South Asian countries in the near future. The Campaign is presently focusing on Breast Cancer for awareness and treatment and awareness on Cervix Cancer, Oral Cancer and Prostate Cancer in the near future.

The Campaign has expanded rapidly. The Campaign aims to provide universal coverage. Although the Campaign is relatively young the results are already apparent• • • • • •

Strong targeting to the semi urban and rural areas Contribution to improved cancer education outcomes Impact of awareness on women Capacity building Positive impact on health departments Positive impact on local economies

We are the only charity in India who have launched fully equipped MOBILE BREAST CANCER DETECTION UNIT for free Mammography and Ultrasound. We are providing treatment free of cost too the women. BRIEF ON THE MOBILE BREAST CANCER DETECTION UNIT. The mobile cancer detection unit is housed in a specially designed vehicle with aircondition and a diesel generator. It has been developed by M/s Siemens. The vehicle is self contained in all respects and houses the following facilities (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Mammography Mini Lab Examination Chamber. Changing Room Registration Desk

We will shortly be installing a sonography machine. You would appreciate that in a short span, ROKO CANCER TRUST has organised successful camps and has benefited thousands of women.Roko Cancer Campaign pledges to reach out to the ‘last one in the queue’ in the far flung regions in India – to reach out the message of Awareness towards Cancer or shall we say Awareness towards Life.