Cancer has been a disease of concern for a really long time, and creating awareness about the early detection of it has always been a major healthcare issue. Many organisations have been conducting awareness drives and marathons to spread awareness about early detection of cancer. Grace Cancer Foundation has conducted a Cancer Awareness Run, and this year too, it will be held on October 11. We speak to the founder, Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli, senior consultant robotic surgical oncologist, who explains more about the run.
Tell us about Grace Cancer Foundation.
The seed for the foundation was found when I saw a patient who was 26 years old and was diagnosed with oral cancer after major surgery about 15 years back. His family didn’t have money to take the dead body home, and this man had been a tobacco abuser since the age of 12. So, that is when a concern arose. The first thing was that it could have been prevented, and the second was that it could have been detected early because he came at stage four. That is where we thought we could do something to really build that chain to raise awareness and prevent by detecting cancer early. I think that was the trigger for us. Since then, for 14 years now, the issue has been about alleviate the cancer burden. Number one is education to prevent it — lack of awareness about vaccination, tobacco usage, a healthy lifestyle, physical activities and excess consumption of alcohol is needed. The second is early detection through mobile screening camps. That is our core work on the ground. We have six buses fully loaded with mammography, X-ray and testing facilities. Which cost around `8,000-10,000, and these are done free of cost. We screen close to 1,00,000 people every year. This year, we have been to Meghalaya, Odisha, Bihar and other states.
We are the only organisation with six buses. Wherever there is a road, our bus will go. And the third one is whoever is diagnosed, we connect them with the nearby Ayushman Bharat or Aarogyasri hospitals, where the treatment is done free of cost. We have also established a cancer hospital in Nizamabad, where I have been going for the last 20 years, every Friday. It is called Indur Cancer Hospital, which has become my baby. We are providing cancer care to the poorest of the poor, which includes radiotherapy, which is really expensive. That is the treatment part.
And the fourth one is the research, which includes technology and collaborating with colleges. As a part of the awareness, we do the Grace Cancer Run. This has been happening for the past couple of years, and this is the ninth edition. It started with 3,000 people, and last year we had 30,000 people in Hyderabad. Globally, three lakh people across 130 countries and different states participate in the month of October on different dates. It has been a global movement, especially with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. nIn this run, more than 300 cancer survivors will be taking part in the run, giving hope to people that you can survive cancer. That is the message we want to give.
Can you tell us about the 9th edition of the run?
This run is in multiple smaller cities like Nizamabad, Kakinada and different places. It is also happening in Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi. We just want to inspire and bring that hope through physical activity, which is the simplest tool for the prevention of cancer. Through this, we want to raise awareness about two vaccines — one is the Hepatitis B vaccine for liver cancer and HPV for cervical cancer. Many people don’t take action; even the educated don’t. After 40, mammography has to be done. It is unfortunate that the screening rate is less than two percent. That is the reason cancer is detected late, and that is the reason we are doing a purpose-driven run.
In the US alone, the run happens in 25 locations. This has been happening for quite a few years.
Will all the runners get access to the screening?
Runners are helping someone get screened. The ripple effect of the run is that we also raise some funds.We will be using that money for screening in rural India. Everyone who is running is supporting one screening in rural India. The sponsorship amount is what we saved for screening, and the remaining registration amount is also what we saved for screening.
Is cancer preventable?
Cancer is preventable. At least two-thirds, around 70-75 percent, of cancers can be prevented. A change in lifestyle itself can help, and 40 percent of cancers are because of tobacco. Then infections like HPV and Hepatitis B add to 10 percent. A sedentary lifestyle, obesity, the food that they eat and excess alcohol consumption are also factors for cancer, and in that sense, it is preventable. Only 5-10 percent are hereditary, which runs in families and is beyond us. Even two-thirds of them are preventable. Cancer is not a death sentence. That is the reason we called 300 cancer conquerors for this run.
How are you going to attract the youth of India?
This whole run brings a sense of awareness and makes them a part of this drive. If they change their lifestyle now, maybe 10 or 12 years down the line, they may circumvent this. We are going to colleges and IT companies for in-person awareness talks and asking them to join this run.
How important is screening?
Screening is done for people who are otherwise normal. It is done for people who do not have symptoms. We know the outcomes of cancer depend on the stage. So, the earlier the diagnosis, the better the chances of a cure.