A breast cancer awareness initiative held here on Wednesday showed that though cancer is a grave issue, cancer awareness campaigns need not be serious affairs.
Organised in observance of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month by Swasthi Foundation, in association with the Trivandrum Oncology Club (TOC), the event’s motto was ‘Healthy living with music and dance.’ In keeping with the motto, the highlight of the campaign was a Zumba dance demonstration, followed by musical performances.
The members of TOC and Swasthi Foundation gathered to inaugurate the event by exchanging pink ribbons, which symbolise breast cancer awareness.
The event held on Wednesday was an attempt to attract attention to the issue in a light-hearted manner through entertainment, as well as to promote Zumba as a means to stay healthy, said Abey George, General Secretary, Swasthi Foundation .
“Zumba is a kind of magic, and not just a workout routine,” Anjali Jaindhan, the Zumba trainer who led the demonstration held at the event, told The Hindu . “Cancer patients have shown remarkable progress after taking up Zumba, not just through the effect it has on the body, but also on the mind. It helps them stay positive, and overcome loneliness and depression, as it is primarily a fun-filled group activity.”
Swasthi Foundation has previously organised Snehathaalam, a mass awareness programme aimed at encouraging early detection of cancer, under which screening tests for breast and oral cancer were conducted for over 75 days in 2015 with the collaboration of the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC). The fourth phase of the campaign is currently under way.
Dr. K. Chandramohan of RCC welcomed the awareness initiative, as the number of breast cancer patients in the city is on the rise.
He said the prevalence of the disease in the city would soon match that in the western countries.
