CPAA: E-Newsletter July – August 2009

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‘Is Healing a Participatory Process’: On the occasion of Doctor’s Day, July 1st , CPAA’s Dr. Shubha Maudgal was invited to participate in this discussion by The Times Foundation. IMA’s Dr. Lele spoke on Alternative Therapy on the same platform.

Tobacco Awareness at Don Bosco Shelter: On 20th July, Dr. Shubha Maudgal and Isha Thapa, student volunteer from California, USA visited the Don Bosco Shelter at Matunga. The children were given anti-gutkha stickers and counseled on the harms of tobacco.

Childhood Support Group Programme at Cymroza Art Gallery: On 25th July, Piali Syam and Mallika Narayanan organised a programme at the Cymroza Art Gallery. Patients got the chance to interact with leading artist, Brinda Chudasama Miller.
 

‘Khazana’ unearthed at the Oberoi, Mumbai: In the dramatic interiors of The Regal Room, the most talented Ghazal singers of this decade performed  together on a single stage to raise funds for the treatment and rehabilitation of cancer and thalassemia patients through the NGOs CPAA and PATUT respectively on 26th & 27th July. This fund-raising concert, a brain-child of Ghazal Maestro, CPAA patron and President of PATUT, Shri. Pankaj Udhas has been a resounding success since its inception a decade ago. ‘Khazana’ this year featured a multitude of talent such as Rajender Mehta, Mitalee & Bhupinder Singh, Anup Jalota, Talat Aziz, Ahmed &  Mohammed Hussain, Penaz Masani, Pt. Abhijit Pohankar, Prof. Rita Ganguly, Ms. Srabooni Chaudhari, Pankaj Udhas and new artists like Raavi More and Neha Chimmalgi. This year they paid tribute to renowned music director Late Shri Madan Mohan on the occasion of his 85th birth anniversary.

Cancer Awareness Programme organised by Richfeel at L. S. Raheja College, Santa Cruz: On 27th July, Dr. Shubha Maudgal was invited to participate in a panel discussion for the benefit of cancer patients. Dr. Mandar Nadkarni, Dr. Ashit Seth, Dr. Kalpana Sarangi, Dr. Madlani and Mrs. Sadhana Chaudhary were the other eminent speakers.

Study on Tobacco Habits of school-going children: Nimit Lad and Sharmishtha Rudra, premedical students from Duke’s University, USA spent 6 weeks with CPAA from 12th June to 5th August to conduct a research study on tobacco habits of school children. Over 2000 children, aged 10 – 18 years, across 20 schools all over Mumbai were surveyed from. The survey showed that the average age at which tobacco consumption began was 13 years and more smokeless tobacco (pan masala and gutkha) was consumed than cigarettes and bidis.

Drawing competition: Deutsche Bank organised a this event on 8th August at their Andheri office for children from various NGO along-with children of their staff. 15 cancer patients supported by CPAA were invited along-with their relatives too out of which 4 of our patients won prizes.

Screening Camp at Safale: On 9th August CPAA organised a screening camp at Safale in cooperation with K.C. College at which 80 villagers participated.

Psycho-oncology Volunteers Training Programme in Silchar, Assam: 23rd – 27th August Dr. Shubha Maudgal and Susmita Mitra travelled to Silchar, Assam to conduct our regular volunteers training programme for 16 participants at the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. Dr. Rita Banik coordinated the arrangements with Dr. Ravi Kannan and Seetha Kannan. Awareness lectures were given to an audience consisting of women NGOs; hospital employees, Inner Wheel Club members and at the National Institute of Technology.

APCASOT & Daffodil Day: UICC Asia-Pacific Cancer Society Training Grants are offered by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the Cancer Council Australia to develop cancer control capacity in the Asia-Pacific region. The grants provide selected Fellows with a unique training and development experience and by providing the hosting cancer societies the opportunity to contribute to cancer control in the Asia-Pacific region. This year, CPAA’s Shailja Singh was awarded this fellowship to study at The Cancer Council Queensland(CCQ), Brisbane, Australia, from 24th – 28th August. CCQ arranged the study programme and site to give an overall preview of the various activities on cancer control. Interactive sessions were arranged with different departments on the subjects: Peer Support Programs, Community Speakers Program, Volunteer Services, Community Services Resources, Epidemiology, Psycho-Oncology Research, Health Professional Education, Tobacco Issues, Tobacco Legislations, Quitline, Cancer Registry, and Cancer Counseling Service with special emphasis on fundraising programmes and strategies, adopted by CCQ. The highlight of the visit was the Daffodil Day, a major fundraising event of CCQ, wherein the staff and volunteers sell Daffodil Day merchandise at busy nodes/ junctions of each city like railway stations etc

‘Ganesh Darshan’: On 27th August , cancer patients were taken to visit the famous and much revered ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ during the Ganesh Utsav, followed by visits to Ganesh Galli-Lalbaug, and Tejukaya Mansion Ganeshotsav Mandal- Lalbaug. It was a truly incredible experience for the patients to get a glimpse of their favourite deity.

Trip for patients: A two day trip from 29th – 30th August, at Sai Farms was organised by Courage India Cancer Foundation to commemorate the 2nd death anniversary of their founder president, Mr. Venkatesh Iyer. 10 childhood cancer patients along with their parents were treated to a fun-filled picnic followed by a visit to Pali Ashtavinayak Ganpati Temple. We are grateful to Mr. Vinay Benegal from Courage India who made this trip possible.

Art Exhibition at Tradition Art Gallery, Juhu: Colours of Life continued thanks to the support given by Zarine Khan and Bina Aziz. Dimple Kapadia inaugurated the exhibition on 28th August. The proceeds from the sale during this exhibition will go towards treatment of childhood cancer patients. Click here to view the collection online . Email piali.syam@cancer.org.in to purchase or further queries.

DELHI BRANCH
Raksha Bandan Celebration: CPAA celebrated Raksha Bandan with its cancer patients at the AIIMS pediatric ward on the 4th August, 2009. All the children in the ward excitedly participated in the celebration and tied rachis, made themselves, to one another…even the doctors. Gifts, sweets and juices were distributed to all the 80 children in the ward.

Independence Day Celebration: The children and the staff at the Rajgarhia Dharamshala came together and celebrated Independence Day on 15th August. They made the national flag and sang patriotic songs to celebrate the big day. The children in the wards too came forward and participated in these activities.

PATIENT CARE REPORT: JULY & AUGUST 2009