Drive To Defeat Breast Cancer

Vintage car rally to spread awareness about breast cancer New Delhi

New Delhi, October, 2015: The Forum for Breast Cancer Protection, an NGO set up by senior medical practitioners is partnering with the Heritage Motoring Club of India to organize a Vintage Car Rally, with the clarion call of : Early Detection Saves Precious Lives. The objective is to explain to women that they must not ignore issues of the breast and inform them about the screening protocol.



The purpose of the rally is to reach out to as many women and their families as possible, in different socio-economic sections of society and persuade them to go in for regular screening. The Forum for Breast Cancer Protection is headed by Dr. (Mrs.) Ramesh Sarin, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology and Dr. (Col.) C.S. Pant, VSM, Consultant Radiologist. Dr Sarin said, “We hope to make thousands of women aware of breast cancer and the importance of early detection through regular screening. Indian women tend to ignore their own health and concentrate on the health of their families. They also feel very embarrassed when faced with issues of the breast. We want to remove this wall of silence and keep the conversation flowing”.

Dr. (Col.) Pant added, “A greater cause of concern is that most Indian women only seek medical advice when their cancer had progressed tragically, leading to the physical and emotional scarring of breast removal, the spread of cancer to other parts of the body and the needless loss of life. When it comes to breast cancer, knowledge is not just power, it is life. If every woman knows how to conduct a breast self-examination, knows when to start the screening regimen, thousands of lives can be saved.”

The event ‘Drive To Defeat Breast Cancer’ will be held on Sunday, 18th October, 2015.

The Vintage Car Rally will see Breast Cancer survivors not only riding these vintage cars but also participating in a fashion show by Designer Puneet Kochhar. These are women who have been treated successfully for breast cancer and triumphed over the disease. These valiant women will represent ‘Happiness Surrounds Us’, a support group of young survivors who are spreading awareness about breast cancer. 12 of them will be taking part in the fashion show.

The rally drivers will be flagged off by Mr. B.S. Bassi, Commissioner of Police, Delhi from the National Stadium, India Gate at 4:30 pm and will flag in at Tivoli Garden Resort, Chhattarpur Mandir Road.

The event in the evening will be held at Tivoli Garden Resort at 7:30 pm and will include the screening of an educational film, “We Can Defeat Breast Cancer” followed by the fashion show.

The Chief Guest for the evening will be Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Hon’ble Minister of State, Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India. The Guest of Honour will be Mr. K.T.S. Tulsi, President, Heritage Motoring Club of India, Senior Advocate and Member of Parliament.

The scenario of breast cancer in India is extremely worrying.

Ø  Over 90,000 Indian women die of breast cancer every year, more than any other cancer.
Ø  By current estimates, 1 in 25 Indian women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
Ø  A WHO study predicts that by 2020, 1 in 8 urban Indian women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
Ø  Indian women seek treatment very late – around 65% are already in stage 3 or 4 when diagnosed.

 About the Forum for Breast Cancer Protection

The Forum for Breast Cancer Protection, a registered NGO, was set up in 2001 by a group of doctors who were increasingly concerned about the rising incidence of breast cancer in India. The Forum has taken on on the urgent task of empowering Indian women with information, persuading them to go in for clinical assessment early and encouraging them to discuss issues of the breast in an open and candid manner. The Forum found that many women find it almost impossible to even talk about the disease. There is a huge gap of awareness, discussion and knowledge.

To fill this gap, the Forum has been conducting women’s group meetings, screening educational films with Q&A sessions and organizing car rallies to keep the issue alive. Various meetings have been held at women’s clubs, at colleges for faculty and students, in schools for staff and teachers, in factories for wives of factory workers and in offices. The Forum hopes that the rally and the evening event will successfully spread the word that breast cancer is curable, if detected early.