Raising the bar on fight against cancer

The second edition of DNA Winners in Life Awards culminated last week in with an awards ceremony at The Lalit, Mumbai. The evening that was high on emotions, had patients who fought cancer, members of medical fraternity and celebrities come together.

The awards had three categories, honouring people who have been closely associated with fighting cancer: patients, doctors/oncologists and nurses.

Over the weeks, more than 300 inspiring stories of people who battled and survived cancer came in. And the jury had a tough time shortlisting it to stories of 16 cancer survivors, who were felicitated at the event.

The event was organised by DNA in association with Cancer Patients Aids Association (CPAA), Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON), and supported by PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre and Alma Lasers.

Madhur Bhandarkar with Harish Baijal (R)

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar graced the event as the guest of honour, along with CEO of Hinduja hospital Gautam Khanna, MD Alma Laser Soumen Dutta, CPAA Chairman YK Sapru, and Executive Director of ICON TV Dr Purvish Parikh. Mrinal Kulkarni and adman Bharat Dabholkar were also present.

Dabholkar, who was also on the jury for the awards, shared with everyone of the challenges jury members faced in selecting the awardees. "We received a huge flow of entries; choosing just 16 was a daunting task. Finally, we decided to go by the seriousness of the illness and the age of these patients. Stories of patients with with more severe conditions, and children who suffered from the illness at a young age tugged at our hearts."

"?The DNA Winners In Life initiative is addressing an important, unmet need.? It showcases the leadership role and success stories of those fighting relentlessly against cancer, and carries the message to a larger audience," said Dr Purvish Parikh, executive director of ICON

At the event, Soumen Dutta, MD of Alma Laser, said that the disease can be fought not physically but mentally, something that can be aided by events like these.

The evening began with an aarti ceremony. The first category of awards saw three nurses being honoured for their enormous contribution to cancer patients' care. While receiving her award, Shreelekha R, from Thiruvananthpuram, said, "This award gives me a lot of motivation to work harder for cancer patients so that I can bring a smile on their face." The other nurses who were felicitated were Irene Sundar, Sister in charge, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and Shrijikumari NG from Thiruvananthpuram.

The next category of awards saw noted oncologists receiving honours for their work. These were Dr K Ramadas from the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Dr Hemant Tongaonkar of PD Hinduja hospital, Dr Shilin Shukla from Ahmedabad, Dr K Govind Babu from Bengaluru, Dr Sameer Bakshi from AIIMS Delhi and Dr K Kalaichelvi from Chennai.

Speaking on the contributions of the medical fraternity, Bhandarkar noted, "We should appreciate the doctors, nurses and family members who stand by the patients during their tough times. The courage of survivors and patients, who are battling and fighting is remarkable."

The final category honoured cancer survivors, who've showed tremendous courage in the face of the disease and fought it hard.

(From Left) Ajay Desai of Living Liquidz and Ritam Bhardwaj with Vivek Oberoi

Vivek Oberoi, who gave away a few of these awards, said, "I have seen people giving it their all to survive. I am happy to make a social impact through my profession by associating with CPAA."

He also acknowledged the role of the medical practitioners in the battle against cancer. "With excellent practitioners, we have been able to save a lot of children," he added.

Dr Bakshi said that people should know that nearly half of adult cancer is preventable and 70 per cent child cancer is treatable. It's a message that should be spread for the effective prevention and treatment of the disease.

Mrinal confessed that she perhaps was one who'd return with the biggest takeaway from the event. "My father is also battling with cancer. The stories I heard are inspiring, and offer so many lessons," the actress said.

"Programmes like these make one realise the struggles that cancer patients undergo at each stage. We feel that we are just small parts of the whole thing when we get a chance to associate with such heroes," Neha Bhasin said. The singer also regaled the audience with her hit songs as she performed at the event.

MC Tarun Ratnani

Harish Baijal, Joint Commissioner of FDA, Maharashtra, said, "Success stories should be reported, so that it can reach to a large number of people and encourage others. It is good to felicitate doctors and nurses too because they also put a lot of efforts to make a patient survive from cancer. Everyone is a winner."

An event of this kind is a trail blazer. I thank DNA for organising this event that has recognised some of the true winners that we have among us. I hope that others find inspiration from their stories.
Gautam Khanna, CEO of PD Hinduja Hosital

I am delighted to see so many people turning up to be part of this event, and giving encouragement to these heroes, the cancer survivors and the practitioners. Such events encourage us, at CPAA that also works for the cause, to work even better.
YK Sapru, Chairman, CPAA

VISHAL WINS HEARTS

The highlight of the event was 16-year-old Amol Ghodke, a thalassemia patient, who is a big fan of Vishal Dadlani's music. He was in for a big surprise, when Vishal joined him on stage during his performance. The two then sang together for the audience. Amol, who hails from a small village in Khadavli near Kalyan, said meeting Vishal was a dream come true. "I have followed Vishal sir's songs closely, and getting to meet him in person was an excellent experience," he gushed. Amol's father Ramesh, who works as a daily wage laborer, said that he was happy to be a part of such as event. "On most days we struggle to pool money for his treatment. He likes music but we cannot afford a good tutor for him. We are glad that he got to perform at such a big gathering with his idol," he said.