October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. VS Hospitals in association with Ethiraj College for Women today formed a “Pink Ribbon” to raise awareness on Breast Cancer. Around 800 students from Ethiraj College for Women stood together carrying a pink umbrella to form a pink ribbon on the Madras University ground at Chetpet.

During the Breast Cancer Awareness event held at Chetpet today, VS Hospitals’ new initiative “Pink India Movement” was launched by the Honourable Minister of Health and Family Welfare Thiru Ma Subramanian in the presence of Thiru V. M. Muralidharan, Chairman – Ethiraj College for Women, Prof. Dr. S. Subramanian, Founder Chairman & Managing Director – VS Group of Hospitals, Prof. Dr. S. Sundar, Medical Director, VS Group of Hospitals and Mr. Muthu Subramanian, Executive Director –  VS Group of Hospitals. The Pink India Movement was started to spread awareness about breast cancer among women and propagate the need for early detection and regular screening all through the year.

Speaking at the event, Thiru. Ma. Subramanian elaborated on the magnitude of the disease, “Breast cancer is one of the most common and aggressive forms of cancer in India and more than 2 lakh women in India were estimated to have been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. One woman gets diagnosed with breast cancer every 4 minutes in India, and one woman dies of breast cancer every 13 minutes. The average age of developing breast cancer has also undergone a significant shift from 50 – 70 years to 30 – 50 years. There has been a recent increase in breast cancer in younger women.”

Thiru V. M. Muralidharan, Chairman, Ethiraj College for Women reiterated that the awareness of Breast Cancer Awareness should start from college days and urged the students and the crowd to raise the importance of self-breast examination with their loved ones and to spread the word.

Commenting on the initiative, Prof. Dr. S. Subramanian, Senior Most Practising Medical Oncologist in the Country and Founder Chairman & Managing Director, VS Group of Hospitals said, “Breast cancer accounts for 25% to 32% of all cancers in women in Indian cities and is the second most common cancer in rural areas. Incidence of breast cancer in Chennai is the highest at 42.2 per lakh (age-adjusted rate AAR). Those with a genetic predisposition, have a higher risk of breast cancer. Early menarche and late menopause in women are some of the other reasons for breast cancer. There is a lot to be desired in terms of treatment outcome in our country, since most of the cases are detected at a very late stage of the disease, and the chances of survival reduce considerably.  Early detection and treatment are one of the most efficient ways of addressing this issue. The social awareness about breast cancer is very less in India, and among those who are aware, there’s an undue hesitation to get immediate medical attention.”

As one of the leading providers of cancer care in TamilNadu, VS Hospitals endeavours to constantly conduct cancer awareness events of large magnitude to ensure that the importance of cancer screening is showcased to the world.