Walk with the surgeons

For cancer prevention:

by Carol Aloysius

If you are into morning walks, or even if you are not, here's something you should not miss - a walk for a cause, more specifically, a walk with the surgeons to create awareness about cancer prevention. An impressive number of medical personnel, ranging from eminent surgeons to students from medical colleges across the country and members of the medical corps of the Army, Navy and Air Force, will get on to the street this morning, to literally walk the talk about cancer prevention. They will be joined by stakeholders and the general public.

The two-hour Surgeon's Walk 2015, scheduled to get underway this morning, from No 7, Independence Avenue, where the College of Surgeons is sited, will conclude with a medical photography exhibition highlighting the need for better disease awareness that can save lives. The Walk will also raise funds for the P.R. Anthonis postgraduate fund which supports deserving surgeons for higher studies.

The Walk, though not a new experience for the College of Surgeons, which has organized such events previously, will be different this year for several reasons. According to Prof. Srinath Chandrasekera, who heads the organising committee, 600 or more participants, the largest so far, are expected this year. "The fact that so many have actually volunteered to join us on their own initiative, including stake holders, emphasises and highlights their efforts in cancer care and will help raise more funds to improve the overall quality of life of cancer patients and cancer care," he explains.

Their primary reason for choosing to walk for cancer, Prof Chandrasekera says is because, right now, cancer is reaching epidemic proportions on a global scale, including in Sri Lanka. "The aim of our walk is to educate and raise public awareness on two things; the efforts of the surgeons who are battling to fight this dreaded menace and to raise funds for the college to improve cancer care in numerous ways," he adds.

Early detection

He also elaborates that as the apex body for all surgeons, which brings all specialties in the field of surgery under one umbrella, it is their responsibility to improve cancer care and prevention in Sri Lanka. "In the past few years, if you look at the number of patients in the country based on figures from the Cancer Registry alone, we have seen an escalation in the number of new cases every year," he says, explaining, "Our key message is Early Detection leads to Early Prevention. To achieve our goals we have to intensify our efforts to ensure that it reaches every person at risk of getting cancer."

Professor Chandrasekera goes on to explain that if cancer is detected early, the complication that comes with it can be eliminated and patients could also be treated with non surgical tools. "This is what the public needs to knows. But we must first begin by equipping our surgeons with better tools such as training. They need to develop more skills by training within and outside the country. They need better library facilities with the most updated literature and research studies in their field of specialty," he says.

New paths

He claims the Walk can, by motivating the members and creating new paths for fund raising help bring the college closer to those goals. When asked whether the walk will both start an end at the College, he says, "Right now we have no plans to do any walks outside the city for the same reasons.

But we will continue to raise awareness across the country, with our ongoing regional meetings.

So if you are free this morning, make your way to Independence Avenue and lend your support to a good cause. The 2 hour walk in pleasant surroundings on a sunny morning promises to be an invigorating and rewarding experience for all.

All are invited

President of the College of Surgeons Prof. Kemel Deen says, they want to make the public aware that cancer is not incurable anymore. "We can prevent it by early detection," he says, explaining that the Walk will gain an added dimension this year, because of the Medical Photography Exhibition.

The highlight of the exhibition will be the display of several unusual operations performed by Past President and Chairman of the Exhibition, Dr Gamini Goonethilleke, over a 33-year career as a surgeon. The Exhibition that go underway on June 2 6 will conclude at 6.00 p.m. today. To motivate young trainee doctors, the exhibition has also invited surgical trainees to submit their photos and videos, offering three prizes for the best exhibits.

The exhibition is being at the College of Surgeons premises.