Sat, February 04, 2023, 11:00 – 12:15 IST
4th February, 2022 was observed internationally as World Cancer Day to unite the world together in the fight against cancer. Close the Care Gap is the current (2022-2024) theme, which aligns with the vision and mission of Mitra CanCare Foundation.
The Care Gap manifests in the forms of awareness, early detection, access to professionals, ability to meet the cost and the psychological impact on the patients and their families. Mitra CanCare Foundation aims to attack each of these challenges to make cancer less intimidating.
To celebrate psychological and physical win over Cancer, the Mitra CanCare Foundation had organised an hour of panel discussion on the World Cancer Day with Veer Mitras, those special individuals who have dared to meet cancer face-to-face and emerge victorious. The panel discussion was led by Dr. Nalini Rao, to inspire patients to take up cancer care with a positive mindset to emerge a victor themselves.
The Panel
The panel consisted of,
- Dr. Nalini Rao, a retired Radiation Oncologist
- Mr. Parameshwaran, A Leukemia victor
- Mr. Glen Williams, Bladder Cancer victor
- Mr. Suresh, Colo-rectal Cancer victor
- Mr. Vandana Rao, Breast Cancer victor
Please see the World Cancer Day Event for more detailed profiles of the Cancer Victors.
The Event
The session was opened by Ms. Bharathi Vatsa welcoming the audience and requesting Ms. Priya Vaishnav to render the Invocation song. She then requested Amar Bhaskar, a cancer victor himself, to make a welcome speech and introduced the panel. Mr. Amar Bhaskar explained the purpose of World Cancer Day and how the Mitra CanCare Foundation addressed the Care Gap. He then requested Dr. Nalini Rao to open the panel discussion with a brief introduction.
Dr. Nalini Rao, in her speech, made a differentiation between Equality, enabling availability of right treatment, and Equity, availability of treatment to everyone without a differentiation. She also spoke about 8 risks of cancer as published by Cancer.Net. With this she welcomed the panel and started the panel discussion.
The Panel Discussion
Dr. Nalini Rao opened the panel discussion by requesting the panel members to narrate their story in brief to set the context.
Ms. Vandana Rao, was diagnosed of breast cancer and went through radiation and chemo therapy to emerge victorious. She advised people undergoing cancer treatment that “Negative Mind will not give Positive Life”.
Mr. Parameshwaran was diagnosed of Leukemia in 2004 while he was at the peak of his career. The initial medication removed all the strains and he led a great life for 2 years. In 2006 it was found that the cancer strain has developed resistance to the medication and started proliferating again. He then had to go through bone marrow transplant and he is full of life again. His advise to the participants is “Facilitate early diagnosis, Believe in Doctors and Go through the treatment with an open mind”.
Mr. Glen Williams had to undergo 8 to 9 major surgeries to contain cancer in bladder and finally the bladder had to be removed. He lives with an external urine bag and leads a normal life. He is married and had adopted a child, who is a special child with need for special care. He advocates “Leading normal life without fear of cancer”.
Mr. Suresh, suffering from stomach pain was diagnosed of Colo-rectal cancer. He underwent surgery without knowing this fact and then had to undergo 6 cycles of chemo. He says that “it is the mindset that helps recovery”.
The Questions
Dr. Nalini Rao opened the discussion by asking the panelists about their first reaction when they were diagnosed of cancer. For most of the panel members it was a shock followed by fear, which later turned into optimism as they started going through the treatment. Mr. Pramod Kulkarni, one of the participants said that he was happy that the doctors could finally diagnose the cause for his sufferings after struggling for one year.
Mr. Pramod Kulkarni asked the question “what he should tell his children to be prepared”. Dr. Nalini Rao answered the question by stating that Mr. Kulkarni should tell his children to remain positive and lead the life without fear.
Ms. Suneetha, one of the participants diagnosed with Colo-Rectal Cancer stated that “Mindset is Important” in the fight against cancer.
Dr. Nalini Rao then directed specific questions to the panelists.
She asked Mr. Parameshwaran, about how he coped with the treatment. Mr. Parameshwaran laid down his way of dealing with Leukemia treatment,
- Never give up
- Do not google, especially about the treatment
- Do not worry too much about the expense, help will always come
He also narrated the funny fact that the bone marrow transplant changed his blood group from B-Negative to B-Positive, rhyming with his mindset.
Dr. Nalini Rao asked Mr. Glen to tell how he dealt with 9 surgeries. Dr. Glen said that he had to spend 50% of his time in the hospital and that his family had to spend their entire fortune on the treatment. The only thing that helped him to deal with this ordeal was the “Positive Mindest”.
Dr. Nalini Rao also brought up the topic of how cancer affects the sex-life and how people have coped up with it. Mr. Glen said that sexual life was impossible with the bladder removed. He was fortunate to find a partner who is a nurse herself and to complete the family, they adopted a child. Life threw more challenges when they learnt that the child was autistic and required special schooling and treatment. Mr. Glen and his wife are taking this on their stride and are trying to encourage the child’s painting skills. He says that he has learnt to “Accept what life gives” and “Accept life as it unfolds”.
Dr. Nalini Rao then spoke about the “Stigma” around cancer and how the patients should ignore such views and press on with positivity.
Ms. Anoushka Pinto, one of the participants, asked the panel “What is the right thing to say when you meet someone diagnosed of cancer?”. Mr. Parameshwaran said that the person should Connect with other similar people. Dr. Nalini Rao said that “Meeting likewise people” is the best advice one can give. Mr. Murali Santhanam, one of the participants said that it is encouraging to say that “They are not alone. There are millions of people suffering from similar disease and there are treatments available”.
Cancer Cover
After the panel discussion, Mr. Sudhir Kumar from Life Insurance Corporation of India presented details of the Cancer Cover policy from LIC.
With this the session concluded giving the participants a lot to think about.