Gynaecologist raises awareness about cervical cancer

Dr Ramya Shankar has spent the last six months attempting to raise awareness among adolescents about cervical cancer. “One-fouth of the world’s total cases of cervical cancer occurs in India. The lack of awareness among women about their own bodies, the diseases and modes of prevention is the main reason why the incidence is so high,” shares Dr Shankar.

In her ten years as a Gynaecologist, she had seen many young women diagnosed with the disease.

She works during the day at St Mary’s Mission hospital, at Malur, Kolar, while she spends her evening at her clinic in Bengaluru. “I have seen women as young as 25 years of age battling with this cancer. If someone had told them about the vaccination when they were young, things would have been different for them,” she muses.

She conducts talks across schools in the city and nearby districts in order to encourage teenage girls to get vaccinated, while making them aware of the need for regular screenings and tests. “If you educate children, they will be able to stay alert. In the long run, this will help reduce the incidence of this cancer in India,” she says. She even provides students with information about the doctors they can approach for the same.