Today with technical advancement man has reached MARS, has created robots, is synthetically growing food and doing what not ! But in this fast paced life of today little do we take care about our own selves and people around us. Someday we know we are going to die, no one is immortal we all come with an expiry date but how much attention do we give to our health ? The quality of life we live . Do we value the life god has gifted us ?
Every hour 7 women die due to cervical cancer in India ! Shocking isn’t it ? Did they die because there is no treatment possible ? No they die because cancer was detected at a very later stage in most cases and the treatment becomes less effective. If each woman gets a PAP Smear done regularly, cervical cancer can be detected at avert early stage. It takes only ONE minute to undergo this test and the result comes in a day or two. The problem is not that we don’t have time, the problem is that our health is not our priority. WE are not aware enough. In fact we can guard our daughters against cervical cancer by giving then the HPV vaccine.
Cervical cancer ranks 1st amongst killer cancers for women in India . Right after cervical cancer comes Breast Cancer at the 2nd position amongst the list of killer cancer for women in India.
Your hands can save you !
Yes we are serious, using your hands regularly in the right way to check your breast can save you.
How much time in a day do we spend looking at our face in the mirror to check if we gave an acne or pimples, to have exfoliating manicures and pedicures so that the dead skin is removed and our nails are filed and re-painted. If we have a pimple or spot on our face we apply various face packs, creams , lotions and then constantly monitor it so that it does not spread further. Do we take even a fraction of that time to look a your breast in the mirror , check them for lumps, pimples, redness or change in the texture of the skin there. Most of us miss on doing these things !
Self Breast Examination on a regular basis is a must for every women. If you notice any abnormalities do not delay , visit a doctor soon and let them do a clinical breast examination if they see a need they will suggest a breast sonography/ mammography. And BTW it is a myth that the process is painful as a matter of fact it is not. The ideal time to get a mammography done is after you get your periods. Early detection will help the doctor treat the cancer immediately before it spreads any further inside your body. What we also need to know is that every lump is not a cancer. There is a possibility that the lump is benign and harmless but we can not decide what it is like and hence consulting a doctor immediately is essential. Do not be your own doctor.
Like a lot of personality traits , facial features , habits we get genetically from our family same ways if any female from your mothers side of the family i.e. Grandmother (Nani), mother, maternal aunt(Masi) have had cancer then your chance of getting breast cancer during your life increases.
We @ Sparsh Foundation in association with Sarjan Healthcare know we cannot reach out to every women personally and thus with Mission 1000 we have taken a promise to sensitise and create awareness amongst at least a thousand women about cervical cancer and breast cancer with a hope that they will take the message forward to their community / locality so that someday with ripple effect we will have a high cancer screening ratio.