On the 4th of February, RDI launched a massive awareness and screening program all over the working areas of the organization. Cervical, breast and oral cancer are the three most common cancers in India. This year’s theme “Closing the Gaps” has led the organization to start breast screening and community level awareness campaigns. Breast cancer is one of the biggest and most serious health problems faced by women all over the world, including India. It is essential to detect it early so that treatment can be effective and results can be improved. The traditional screening methods like mammography have limitations, especially when resources are limited. However, now a new technology is emerging as the game changer in the field of breast cancer screening which is called Thermalytix. Thermalytix is a cost-effective, precise, automated, mobile, radiation-free, non-touched, and painless breast cancer detection tool. The core technology of Thermalytix uses a patented machine learning algorithm to detect breast cancer accurately and with confidence.
This year, RDI organized an orientation for staff on cancer awareness in collaboration with the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) of Swami Ram Himalayan University. The orientation focused on understanding the current situation, scope, challenges and opportunities related to the cancer situation in the state of Uttarakhand, and the training was more focused on developing awareness and skills on different types of cancer disorders. Under the guidance of the trained staff, a large number of awareness and screening sessions were organized in Haridwar and Dehradun districts. The sessions included different activities like orientation, rallies and discussions. Orientation sessions were also organized for ASHAs and Anganwadi workers on early screening of breast cancers. Seven screening camps have been held so far, in which 61 women have been screened.