The Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor V.V.S. Laxman, who was a past master in hand-eye coordination with the willow during his hay days, and head coach Tom Moody made it a point to pose for pictures with the children who have survived eye cancer as part of L.V. Prasad Eye Institute’s (LVPEI) initiative on Sunday.
The event that saw unveiling of T-shirts for Whitathon Run to be held on May 20 at People’s Plaza, is aimed at creating awareness on eye cancer and raising funds for its treatment.
“We believe in the philosophy of not turning away any patient, rich or poor, from getting treatment whether he or she can pay or not,” says Swathi Kaliki, ocular oncologist and head of Operation Eyesight Universal Institute of Eye Cancer at LVPEI.
Dr. Swathi revealed that many parents and paediatricians fail to realise that white reflex in the eye can be the first sign of eye cancer. “It’s exactly for this reason that we are grateful to the Sunrisers team for being part of this awareness programme and we hope that the message will reach millions,” she said.
“First, it’s devastating for parents to accept that their children have eye cancer. They will then be in denial mode and they finally accept the reality,” she said.
“Our first goal is to save a child’s life by removing the affected eye. We then try to save the eye, but unfortunately, since most of them come to us at an advanced stage, the success rate is only 50%. Our final goal is to restore useful vision,” Dr. Swathi explained.
G.N. Rao, founder chairperson of LVPEI, said the hospital believes in service. “We care for the patients and that’s why we try to give them the best treatment by tying up with leading healthcare centres across the world,” he said.
For his part, Moody said he was privileged to be a part of what he called a special initiative. “We will be glad if we can contribute to the success of this programme,” he added.
And Laxman, whose father, V. Shantaram, is himself a renowned doctor, said he was surprised to hear about eye cancer. “It was an eye opener for me, honestly,” he said. “When I started the V.V.S. Sports Academy a couple of years ago, Dr. Rao was one of my role models in terms of his service to humanity. He is truly an inspirational personality and I hope millions of children will be benefited from his initiative,” he said. For those interested in taking part in the Run, they can visit www.ifinish.in/event .
