Tribune

Mobile breast cancer detection unit launched Amritsar, December 18

The Indian chapter of the Manjit Kaur Chawla (MKC) Roko Cancer Charitable Trust launched its mobile breast cancer detection unit van at Heir village, near here, today. The unit had been purchased with efforts of NRIs in the UK. The SGPC president, Mr Avtar Singh, flags off the “Roko cancer bus” at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Sunday. — A Tribune photograph

Mobile breast cancer detection unit launched Pawan Kumar Amritsar, December 18 The Indian chapter of the Manjit Kaur Chawla (MKC) Roko Cancer Charitable Trust launched its mobile breast cancer detection unit van at Heir village, near here, today. The unit had been purchased with efforts of NRIs in the UK. The van consisting of mammography ultrasound testing along with generators and air-conditioning facility is India’s first-ever equipped mobile breast cancer detection unit and will be managed and maintained by local units of Freemasons and the Rotary Cancer Care Trust — NGOs. A team of 12 doctors, including gynaecologist, surgeon, physician and radiologist, will remain with the van. The Indian Medical Association and Freemasons have collaborated for providing doctors for the van. Mr Ajinder Pal Singh Chawla, founder and Chairman of the trust, told reporters on the Guru Nanak Dev University premises that emphasis by the Roko cancer trust would be in semi-urban areas where there were no facilities and there was a high risk of breast cancer as per the research by various organisations. The van would visit in block-level areas every weekend and screen every woman with history of breast cancer. Mr Chawla dedicated this mobile van to the memory of his wife Manjit Kaur who lost her life to breast cancer at an early age.

Dr Santokh Singh, a surgeon, said according to the data of an international agency for research on cancer (WHO), 79,000 women were affected by breast cancer in India every year. He said out of every 30 women living in Indian metros one was likely to develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Each year, he said 80,000 women in India get breast cancer leading to 30,000 deaths. Mr Chawla said the core vision of the trust was to bring awareness of breast cancer leading to early detection, treatment wherever possible, helping hospitals in treatment and care of cancer patients, helping terminally ill patients to survive with comfort, peace, dignity and the support to the family of the victims of this disease. Dr Santokh Singh elaborated that the trust had established India Unit here a first of its kind in our country. Mr Paramjit Singh Grewal, a senior doctor, had been appointed Chairman of the MKC India Unit. He said medical specialists Dr K. Lakhanpal and Dr Atul would diagnose patients while Waram Singh Hospital and Mata Kaulan Hospital, both in Amritsar, had offered services for free surgery of such cases. The first cancer diagnosing camp was organised today at Heir village, Ajnala Road, where more than 1000 patients were examined.