Walk to be in the pink of health

CHENNAI: The air at Olcott School on Saturday morning was filled with hope. The crowd was a motley of working professionals, homemakers, school and college students who participated in the ‘One Walk, One Hope’ Walkathon for breast cancer awareness. Some sported pink t-shirts or kurtas while others wore pink hats and pink ribbons to show their support.

“This walkathon is a wonderful initiative as we are able to spread awareness about breast cancer, which is an important health concern for women above 30 years old. If only they go for regular check-ups, early diagnosis is possible which plays an important role in the treatment,” said C Vijayabasker, minister for health, who was also the chief guest of the event.

As part of the celebrations, a number of pink and lavender balloons were released followed by a 2.5-km walk from the school along Elliot’s Beach up to the Velankanni Church and back to the school. “I don’t like getting up for school but I didn’t find it hard to get up and come for the walkathon because I knew it would be fun, and it was also for a good cause,” said 14-year-old K Srihari, a student in a private school. A two-time cancer survivor, Neerja Malik also addressed the gathering.

“Cancer is just a word. We are the ones who attach emotions to it. One must think of it as a small detour and always remember that laughter is the best medicine,” she said. Priya Shanmuga, one of the medical social workers at CANSTOP, spoke about the surge in participation this year.

“It is heartening to see that so many people have come in support. Compared to 1,500 registrations last year, this year we had over 3,000 registrations. It is extremely special because this is the 11th year of the walk and 20 years of CANSTOP.”