Details

​As of February 7, 2007, we started our work in several different villages that are part of the Langalberia Gram Panchayet. This is located in the district of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Some of these villages are in remote areas. In general these villages are about 30 to 40km from Kolkata. There are 14 villages under this Panchayet. We organized a seminar targeting the male population from all of these villages and explained the importance of the breast cancer awareness program and that early detection can save lives. We also conducted five seminars in five of these villages with the female population. We explained the importance of understanding that cancer does not mean that it is the end of life. We specifically focused on the topic of breast cancer and emphasized the benefits of early detection, such as an improved chance for a cure. In addition, we discussed the use of breast self exams (BSE’s) to help detect breast cancer at an early stage. By the end of the year, three more seminars were completed. One was at the Ramkrishna Mission Ashram, Mahesh, Rishra, Hooghly, which was where Dr. Dipankar Datta attended elementary school. Approximately 130 women were present, including President Swami Somananda Maharaj-ji, and local people. At this seminar, the women were very involved in asking questions, and were eager to attend a local camp. Thus, we will conduct one in that area in 2008. Another seminar was conducted at Gobindapur Gyanada Devi Girls’ high school, from which Kalpana Datta graduated. Girls from classes 9 through 12 and the school’s faculty attended. These girls expressed a strong interest in learning more and attending a camp. The third seminar was conducted at Serampore Social Club. Approximately 40 local women attended, as well as about 20 local men.

During seminars we asked for volunteers to work with our organization and actively participate in our door to door cancer awareness campaign. Thus far, eighteen volunteers have joined the program. There are 6 groups of 3 volunteers each. All volunteers received initial training in February courtesy of the Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation, a cancer awareness organization.

​As of March, 2007, for our cancer awareness program, we started a door to door campaign that targeted six villages within the Langalberia Panchayet. During the next four months, approximately 1200 homes were visited. Our volunteers discussed the importance of breast cancer awareness with the female members of each household. In addition, the volunteers showed them the procedure of SBE (self breast examination). In general, we received positive feedback from these families. During this campaign another training session was arranged for our volunteers. Mr. Samiran Das of Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation conducted the training session on April 21st, 2007.

During this campaign, we realized the importance of conducting a general medical and cancer screening camp, since remote villagers do not have access to specialized medical doctors. Thus, the foundation organized the first camp on April 29, 2007 with the technical support of Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation under the leadership of Mr. Samiran Das, Secretary SDMF. Additionally, the camp was organized with the help of local villagers and “Yuba Samaj”, who generously provided the space used for conducting the camp. An Audio Visual awareness program was also organized during this camp. The camp lasted from 9:30AM to 3PM. During this time, patients gathered before the registration room and were classified into two groups (A) General and (B) Gynecological. The former group was seen by two general physicians and the latter by two gynecologists. The gynecologists performed breast cancer and cervical cancer screening for those patients who desired it. The camp was a great success.

The second camp was conducted similarly to the first. On 29th April and June 10th camps, 349 and 213 patients respectively attended the general medical and cancer screening camps. The following table shows detailed statistics :

Value	April 29, 2007	June 10, 2007	Total
General Check Up	226	142	368
Gynecological Check Up	123	71	194
Cervical & Breast Screening	55	26	81

A total of 81 women were screened out of which three were found V1A+. A biopsy was done for one of these women’s cases and another was treated in the clinic itself (Cryotherapy).

​We continued to conduct camps every 6 to 8 weeks. The last three camps were held on July 29, 2007, September 9, 2007, and October 28, 2007. The third and fourth camps were organized with the support of Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation under the leadership of Mr. Samiran Das, Secretary of SDMF. The fifth camp was supported by Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata under the leadership of Dr. Partha Sarathi Basu, Head, Gynecology and Oncology. In addition, each camp was organized with the help of local villagers and “Yuba Samaj”, who generously provided the space used for conducting the camp. We extended the reach of our camps by holding the September 9 camp at Radhaballavpore Primary school at Radhaballavpore village. The following table shows detailed statistics from these camps:

Value	July 29, 2007	Sept 9, 2007	Oct 28, 2007	Total
General Check Up	159	132	126	417
Gynecological Check Up (Total with Breast Screening)	59	42	59	160
Gynecological Check Up (With Cervical Screening)	42	36	43	212

A rally was organized by KDFCC to increase cancer awareness in order to educate people about the benefits of early detection for preventing and curing disease. Approximately 750 people participated in this rally. These included the teachers and students from Anil Smrity Girls High School, Langalberia Boys High School and Gyanada Devi Girls High School, in addition to a large number of local villagers, representatives from different social clubs and organizations, and dignitaries.
The rally participants paraded around a few villages, with big placards with sayings such as “Fight Against Cancer”, “Smoking Causes Cancer”, etc. written in Bengali, the native language. Throughout the walk, villagers lined up by the side of the road to watch the progression. Many asked questions, and we explained the rally’s mission, thereby educating them on our intent. Having reached so many people, we determined that the rally was a great success.

In the future, we will continue to hold camps and rallies to continue to increase cancer awareness.