JOIN USCancer survivors, activists and sympathisers, including US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma and his wife Pinky Verma, came out in the national capital for the ‘Walk for Life’, an initiative by CanSupport to create awareness about cancer, and mark the World Cancer Day. CanSupport, the pioneer in the field of home-based palliative care runs the largest program for people with cancer in North India, organised its 8th annual walkathon recently.
The ‘Walk for Life’ was flagged off by Sangeeta Jaitley, wife of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on a colourful Sunday morning that saw students, prominent citizens and people from all sections of society, come together to express solidarity with those living with cancer. The event also saw participation of city celebrities, personalities from public life, cinema, the corporate sector and thousands of ordinary citizens.
Gursharan Kaur, wife of former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, former US Ambassador David Mulford and his wife Jeannie Mulford walked along with Harmala Gupta, CanSupport founder-president. Leading film actress, activist and cancer survivor Manisha Koirala accompanied by Aditi Rao Hydari, led the Lap of Honour organised for survivors. They were greeted with a huge applause and followed by biking enthusiasts, cyclists, runners and skaters, with vintage cars carrying survivors. An emotionally moved Manisha Koirala said, “Cancer if detected early is curable. There is definitely a life after cancer and a more meaningful one at that. We have to put an end to the silence around the disease.”
This year, Walk for Life witnessed more than 10,000 walkers including the representatives of 20 schools, 27 colleges and 24 corporate houses participating in the Walk. People carried placards to remember their loved ones lost to cancer and performed impromptu acts as they walked down the 4.5km circular route between Nehru Park and Shanti Path, to show they care and to support the work of the organisation in the field of palliative care. The NGO aims to create awareness about cancer, and to raise funds for the people affected by cancer and to honor the struggle and applaud the struggle against cancer.
In India, cancer has become one of the four leading causes of death, according to estimates from the Cancer Registry Program of ICMR which also reveals that Delhi has the highest prevalence rate in India. There are currently 200,000 people in the capital with cancer with about 21,000 being added annually. Of these, 10,000 die every year. On the back of this disheartening statistics is the fact that 75%-80% patients are diagnosed when they are in the thirdor fourth stage of cancer.
Harmala Gupta, founder-President of CanSupport said “Unlike the west, where survivorship figures for cancer are on the rise, in India unfortunately the majority of those diagnosed become aware of their condition when the cancer has already spread and cure becomes difficult.” Gupta, a cancer survivor herself, believes that palliative care is a neglected field in India, with the focus of government and private hospitals being on treatments that may not be appropriate or affordable. “CanSupport helps ease the suffering and turmoil of patients and families coping with advanced illness that threatens their dignity and quality of life,” she added.