CHENNAI: “Women always hesitate to get a screening done for breast cancer because of the fear of radiation and the painful procedure. But, not anymore,” said Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, president of the Tamil Nadu BJP, at the launch of two breast cancer screening devices at Lifeline Institute of Minimal Access (LIMA) Multi-Speciality hospital, on Saturday.
A special van was unveiled to ensure that the devices could be transported even to remote and rural areas for screening.
“This ‘pink device’ has been my dream,” Dr Soundarajan said. “Pink is the colour for breast cancer and October will be devoted to screening breast cancer. We hope to help women in all the wards. Tamil Nadu is the only state after Maharashtra to implement the use of these devices.”
“This is a novel device,” said Dr JS Rajkumar, surgeon and chairman of LIMA. “There is no pain or radiation. It removes the fear associated with screening. When doctors and politicians get together, we can create a social platform and that’s what we are trying to do with this programme.”
He added that this initiative will be beneficial for women as it would bring the hospital to them, instead of them travelling to the hospitals. He said that since the screening will be conducted by an all-women team, it will make women comfortable during the screening process.
A screening camp was organised on Saturday where over 100 women were checked for breast cancer. The camp was conducted by women and consultation was also done for those who were screened.
In line with PM’s vision
The initiative was conducted in association with the NGO Imaigal Foundation under the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ national campaign started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.