Media Release
Mangaluru, Dec 7: A workshop on breast cancer and cervical cancer was premeditated by Commission for Women in collaboration with Health Commission to endorse health awareness among girls and young women on December 5 at St Joseph the Worker Church hall, Neermarga here.
The thought-provoking session was initiated by invoking God’s spirit, to mould, melt and fill all with His grace and light through rendition of a prayer song by Jyothi Saldanha and group.
Fr Anil Canute D'Mello, the parish priest, Ravi Saldanha, vice president, Parish Pastoral Council, Prakash Pereira - secretary, Parish Pastoral Council, Zita Usha Fernandes - co-ordinator, Commission for Women, Francis Gonsalves - co-ordinator, Health Commission and Maurice Renjal-Co-ordinator of 21 Commissions, were on the dais for the inauguration ceremony.
Usha Fernandes welcomed the assemblage and introduced the resource person Dr Dhanya Prabhu, senior resident - KMC Hospital, Mangaluru. Usha Fernandes, while welcoming the dignitaries and the gathering, drove home the objective of this camp quoting 'Do not let illness realise the value of health'. "Especially at a time when we are deluged with excess of information on the social media, it becomes rather difficult for an ordinary human being to filter the truth from the myth. When we are in a state of confusion especially with issues dealing with health, it is always prudent to hear from the horse’s mouth and in this case seek advice of a medical professional," she said.
As a figurative gesture towards illumination, the dignitaries on the dais lighted the lamp and instated the workshop with Asathomaya Sadgamaga sung by Nirmala D'Souza.
Fr Anil D'Mello, the parish priest, in his galvanizing message, expressed ways to practice self-love for good mental and physical health. Fr D’Mello in his speech said, “Importance of a woman at home cannot be overemphasized when it comes to healthcare of the entire family. During olden times, every woman in a household was familiar with administering home remedies. Even today, it is the mother or grandmother in a household, first to know any health abnormality of a member. Therefore, if a woman is healthy, the entire household stays healthy.”
The resource person Dr Dhanya Prabhu then took over the session. She dealt with the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and cervical cancer, its cause and importance of screening for early detection, remedies and self-help with the help of PPT. Dr Dhanya also shared survivor stories that in turn gave a message of hope and confidence to the participants and said 'prevention is always better than cure'. There was an active interaction session between women and Dr Dhanya. As many as 150 women from the parish and neighbourhood were the beneficiaries of this workshop. Dr Dhanya handled doubts clearing sessions more efficiently and also took clinical breast examination on few women who were keen to undergo the test. Projector and sound system was installed by Pramith, Lester and Leslie. Francis Gonsalves, health commission coordinator delivered the vote of thanks.
Gretta Vas compered the programme. On the whole, the workshop left a great and an unprecedented influence on the audience.