Hyderabad, 16th June, 2018: Grace Cancer Foundation, working to ameliorate the condition of several poor and hapless cancer patients, hosted its Second annual fundraiser Music Concert, on Saturday at Hotel Daspalla. SAASS Music band, the official music group of Grace Cancer Foundation, comprising of talented school kids Soumya Peri, Samyuktha Kolluru, Adviteeya Vojjala, Anusha V Kumar and Sathvika Kolluru, under the guidance of their teacher Smt. Sasikala Swamy of Lakshmana chary Memorial College of Music, presented some mellifluous music enthralling the audience. Chief Guest and Actor Lavanya Tripathi; Guest of Honour and noted Singer Vande Mataram Srinivas and Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli, Founder, Grace Cancer Foundation, were also present on the occasion.
Soumya Peri, Samyuktha Kolluru, Adviteeya Vojjala, Anusha V Kumar and Sathvika Kolluru, came forward last year to raise funds to aid poor cancer patients, through a music concert. Their initiative enabled them to mobilize Rs 5.5 Lakhs and these funds provided succor to several economically deprived cancer patients. Highly appreciative of the initiative and the thought provoking gesture of the young brigade to contribute their bit to the helpless patients, Grace Cancer Foundation and its Founder Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli appointed them as the official music band of the foundation last year.
The compassion and the empathy these kids have shown at a young age is something worth emulating, they are real role models not just for the youth of the country, but even for we elder. Their effort will bring cheer on the faces of several destitute cancer patients, says Dr. Chinnababu Sunkavalli.
Ms Lavanya Tripathi applauded the efforts of Grace cancer foundation and expressed her intention to take up the fight against cancer. She commended the children for their flawless efforts in raising funds for the great cause of Cancer. She said, there is a need to raise awareness amongst women to reduce the burden of the disease in the fairer sex.
Vande Mataram Srinivas said, Cancer is curable if detected early. Let us all join hands with Grace in making this pink revolution a reality. The mobile screening campaign has touched my heart. These Children have left a spark of inspiration in me.
Conducting the second fundraiser for Grace Cancer Foundation has been an inspiring experience once again for me and my friends. It is touching to see that our efforts can touch and save many lives. My friends and I thank our teacher, Smt Sasikala Swamy garu, many of our friends and volunteers who worked tirelessly for helping us organize this event successfully. I also thank the donors who generously donated for the cause. I thank Grace Cancer Foundation once again for giving us this opportunity to participate in this noble cause, says Soumya Peri, a student of Oakridge International School, who started this idea of fundraisers last year and continued the tradition again this year.
This initiative of Grace Cancer Foundation has great significance considering the rising incidence of Cancer. Approximately 15 lakh cases of cancer are newly detected every year. Breast and cervical cancers are the top two killers among women. These are the most common cancers too in women.
- One woman dies of cervical cancer every 8 minutes in India.
- For every 2 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India.
The situation is alarming and there is immense need to spread awareness and screening for these two cancers. Unfortunately, Breast cancer screening rates in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is less than 5%. A simple tool like breast awareness, Mammography can diagnose the disease even before one has any symptoms. More than 60% of breast cancers in India present in the advanced stage and hence death rate from breast cancer is also very high. Lack of awareness & absence of an organized National Breast cancer screening program are the main reasons accounting for late presentation. More than one million women worldwide are newly diagnosed with breast cancer annually. Worldwide, a woman dies of Breast cancer every minute. In India, well over 140,000 women are newly diagnosed with breast cancer every year, a staggering number that has overtaken cervical cancer to become the leading cause for cancer related mortality among women in metropolitan cities.
A Simple test like Pap smear can detect cervical cancer disease very early, even before the onset of actual symptoms. Despite evidence that cervical cancer screening saves lives, there is no active participation from public due to lack of awareness. More than half of new cervical cancer cases occur among women who have never or rarely been screened. Nearly 71,000 Indian women die every year of cervical cancer and if screening for the disease is not taken up on a large scale, the number might go up to a million.
Two Most common cancers in men are Oral cavity and lung cancers. These cancers can be prevented by lifestyle modification. Just Tobacco smoking alone causes more than 60% of oral cancers.
The only way to prevent the incidence is to conduct large-scale screening camps and create awareness, further emphasizing that keeping the screening at low cost or at no cost would invite large participation from women. It is better for women between 25 to 30 years of age to get screened and if detected they can be easily cured. The efforts to prevent this are almost nil and less than 2% of Indian women are screened for cervical cancer.
"We must increase our efforts to make sure that all women understand the importance of getting screened for cervical cancer. No woman should die from cervical cancer." It is high time that we focus on these two preventable diseases and create more awareness to the public at large. Simple screening methods like breast awareness and Pap smear will go a long way in early detection and cure. Another important aspect of cervical cancer is that a preventive vaccine is available for HPV infection which is the root cause of this disease.
About Grace Cancer Foundation
GRACE Cancer Foundation (Global Research and Cancer Education) is a non-profit organization registered under section 25(1) of the company's act of India. Grace Cancer Foundation is founded with the vision to alleviate cancer burden through Education, Early detection, Treatment, Rehabilitation and cutting-edge Research for the needy. We aim to provide CURE, CARE and COMPASSION with COMMITMENT to the needy marginalized strata. We aim at fighting cancer, and illuminating people's lives with hope, compassion and empathy.
Ever since its inception the foundation has been conducting various camps and awareness programs throughout India. "Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give," says Dr. Chinnababu. Soon many brilliant oncologists, civil servants, philanthropists joined hands in making Grace cancer Foundation which has been touching lives and reaching out to the unreached masses.
