Cancer Awareness - An International Service Initiative

“Cancer awareness” was a project initiated by the Rotaract Club of University of Peradeniya in collaboration with the Rotaract Club of K.G. Reddy College of Engineering Technology, RID 3150, India, and Rotaract Club of Youth United, RID 3150, India. It was an International Service (IS) initiative to spread awareness about cancer while giving a stage to showcase the creative ideas of people.

 

The project was conducted in two phases:

In the first phase, there was a creative work competition. The topics of the competition were thyroid cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer. Essays, digital posts, and drawings were also to be sent under these topics. Participation was opened to everyone worldwide. Winners of each category were awarded a valuable E certificate. In the second phase of the project, there was a webinar on cancer awareness. It was conducted by Dr. Aparna Suryadevar, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mehdi Nawaz Jung Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre (MNJIO/RCC). The session discussed why cancer occurs, signals of cancer and prevention methods etc. All the participants for the session received a valuable E-certificate and the winners of the competition were announced in the webinar.

 

By conducting these events we tried to make people aware of different types of cancers, the causes for occurrence, signs, medicines, and how to prevent/minimize these occurrences. By early detection, people can seek treatments at an early stage; hence they could be minimized or even cured at some instances. Since more than 30% of cancer cases could be prevented by modifying lifestyle or avoiding the key risk factors, it is extremely important to educate people about these factors. The webinar informed people about the importance of cancer check-ups, created cancer awareness among people, repelled the stigma and fear attached with cancers and highlighted the importance of a healthy lifestyle.