The campaign for the fifth edition of Global Grace Cancer Run, to be held on October 29, with the theme “Run the extra mile to bring a smile”, was formally launched by popular Tollywood comedian Ali on Tuesday.
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The film star also unveiled the jerseys and medals in the presence of Salagala Narasamma, IRS; principal commissioner of income tax, Hyderabad, Avanindra Dandamudi, Managing Director, Dandamudi Biotech, Pavan Gorukanti, Director, Yashoda Hospitals Group, RP Patnaik, music composer and singer; actor Viswant, and Krishna Edula, General Secretary, Society for Cyberabad.
Grace Cancer Run won the Guinness World Records on two counts of most live viewers for a female health awareness lesson on YouTube and most videos of people running / jogging uploaded to Facebook in one hour, in 2020, and is proactively aspiring for more recognition this year.
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“Despite their busy schedule, these doctors took time out to contribute to the society. Grace Cancer Foundation has been doing exemplary service by using equipped buses to conduct cancer screening for the poor in rural areas,” Ali said.
“Even if it saves one person from cancer, it is as good as saving his family. Cancer is dreaded by everyone for the trauma associated with it and the expense involved in getting treated. But the irony is, everyone feels cancer will afflict someone else and not himself or his family,” he said.
Ms. Narasamma said that awareness was the key to early detection of cancer and nip the disease in the early stage.
“GCF is doing yeoman service in both these aspects of awareness and early detection, not just in India but globally in 130 countries, through the now iconic Global Grace Cancer Run, which is also part of Guinness World Records. Prevention is better than cure and this is especially true for cancer because the trauma associated with it for both patients and their families is excruciating, besides financially putting the family off track for several years thereafter,” she said.
Dr. Sunkavalli said that though this initiative was mammoth with participants from 130 countries, it was still a drop in the ocean and there was much more to be done.