Outside Tis Hazari court, a bus screens women for cancer — free of cost

Sonal Dahiya (28), another court staffer, underwent a Pap smear test — a procedure that collects cells from the cervix to detect precancerous or cancerous changes, often caused by HPV, and to identify infections or inflammation. “Some of my relatives had breast cancer, so I thought I should get these tests done,” she said.

The camp is part of Cancer Awareness, Prevention & Screening Programme (CAPS), launched by the Delhi government last month, with a focus on making screening more accessible and affordable.

Dr Pragya Shukla, head of the Department of Clinical Oncology at Delhi State Cancer Institute, which organised the camp, said such outreach programmes are important as many hesitate to come forward due to fear associated with cancer. She said screening is considered a luxury and the “entitled few” get only routine blood tests done. “Cancer screening is neither done nor acknowledged. In fact, people are not aware of what all needs to be done, from what age and how frequently. Women who form the bedrock of our society keep their health at the last pedestal.”

She added that one of the key challenges in cancer detection is that by the time a tumour is visible on a conventional X-ray, it is often already quite large. She said the institute is thus planning to design a mobile screening van equipped with a low-dose CT scan.

“Cases of lung cancer — the most lethal among all cancers — are rising. The recommended screening modality for lung cancer is a low-dose CT scan,” she added.

The van will also include an oral X-ray machine for screening of oral cancers.

“If we see a suspicious growth, we should be able to take a punch biopsy right there. We don’t want to send the patient somewhere else or ask them to come again just for a biopsy,” she said.

“There is no need to be scared of a biopsy. We just take a small piece of tissue from the growth and send it for processing after preserving it in alcohol.”

“A biopsy can be done inside the van itself, even if we are operating on the outskirts. If the result is positive, we can immediately start aligning the patient’s treatment.”

Another focus area will be breast cancer screening, where a device called iBreast will be used, she said, “which detects breast lumps as small as 5 mm.” She also explained that clinical breast examinations or self-examinations usually detect lumps of about 10 mm, while mammography can detect ones as small as 2-3 mm.

Dr Shukla emphasised that the van will also focus on awareness and prevention. “We will have screens to project videos to address myths about cancer.”