Clinic at your doorstep

The team has a project manager,an administration manager,four technicians and a nurse— all of them women. They tie up with corporates,nursing homes,colleges and housing societies to mobilise a minimum of 25 women,hold lectures for them followed by 10-minute individual screenings.

The idea to bring breast cancer screenings to the doorstep of every woman was the brainchild of leading oncologist Padmashri Dr Suresh Advani and wife Geeta Advani.

Geeta,a founder member of Helping Hand,an NGO that supports cancer patients,says the mobile clinic was born after failed attempts to get women over 40 years to visit hospitals for annual screenings. “The idea came to us when we were in Boston a few years ago and saw similar mobile units at work there. Early detection helps treat the disease at a localised stage itself,” she said.

In the last three years,the mobile team has diagnosed 30 cases of early breast cancer. “The report prepared by our radiologist is delivered to the local coordinator. If we detect any abnormality,we call them directly to the hospital where Dr Advani offers the first consultation free of charge,” said Geeta who also helps patients with financial problems get aid from sponsors. The screenings are priced at a minimal Rs 300-600 per person or free-of cost in slum areas as against the steep Rs 1200—1800 charged by private hospitals. The team gets an helping hand from 500-odd breast cancer survivors who occasionally chip in for counselling sessions.

Wheelchair-bound following a polio-attack at the age of eight,Dr Advani has had an inspiring journey as the chief of medical oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital for almost three decades,pioneer of bone marrow transplant in India and a recipient of Dhanvantari Award,the country’s greatest recognition in medicine. At the age of 63,he still maintains a choc-a-bloc schedule as a consultant oncologist at hospitals like Jaslok,Breach Candy,Sushrut,Asian Institute of Oncology. On weekends he takes off to hospitals run by the Apollo group across India.

But as the discussion veers towards his achievements,Dr Advani is quick to dismissively brush it aside instead of preferring to talk about breast cancer awareness. “Lifestyle patterns such as having one’s first child after 25-30 years of age,lack of physical activity and high-fat diet predispose women in cities like Mumbai to an higher incidence of breast cancer.

There is nothing one can do about it except for diagnose it an early stage through monthly self-examination and annual screenings,” said Dr Advani. He says as per latest studies,the percentage of women suffering from the disease is expected to increase by 2 per cent every year in Mumbai itself.