PANJIM: Awareness and interactive sessions, seminars, support services and fundraising events for poor cancer-stricken patients have been some of the year-long activities conducted by CanSurvive, a Goa-centric movement launched a year ago as a project of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman.
CanSurvive is Goa’s cancer support network managed by Caritas Goa assisted by a coordinating team of the professionals to help people with cancer prevention and cancer management.
Through its various awareness programmes, CanSurvive communicated about the early warning signs to be looked for and with focus on self-examination, while also tackling misinformation on treatment options as helpless infected people fall prey to quacks.
Amid rising cases of cancer in Goa, CanSurvive is a Goa-centric movement, voluntary and community-based with a vision of being a ray of hope in the fight against cancer, to make a positive impact in bringing down cancer cases in Goa and easing the lives of those affected by it.
CanSurvive depicts the positive message that one “Can Survive From Getting Cancer” and also one “Can Survive After Getting Cancer”.
Through its eight-fold objectives, several activities were designed to convey the positive message of prevention and cure.
Thousands of people were informed about the need of lifestyle changes as a prevention measure from the dreaded disease. Informative sessions on specific cancers were largely attended at various cities.
The schools, colleges, panchayats, parishes and clubs were the target audience where many people gather for various activities. Since CanSurvive is a volunteer-driven initiative, nurses and lay persons were professionally trained to deliver awareness sessions in the villages.
At every cancer awareness session, a one-rupee drive was held to raise funds to assist the poor and the marginalised affected with cancer towards exorbitant medical treatment. Aldona parish took the initiative to prepare and sell paper bags with CanSurvive branding to raise funds and create awareness. Several families were assisted to help find accommodation through the networks in outstation cities.
A seminar on “Safe Food for Health and Organic Cultivation” was organised to create awareness about the benefits of growing one’s own kitchen garden. The trainees were accompanied to successfully pursue the learning. Besides, schoolchildren were given hands-on training in cultivating paddy fields organically through the collaboration of the Agriculture Department.
The event of the cruise adventure for cancer-affected children conveyed an important message that no disease can capture the joy that a child possesses within. It was a day where parents regained their peace of mind looking at the smiles of their children.
Octima Restaurant, Cavelossim was offered for a dine-and-donate evening as a fundraiser for cancer-affected people. Among several international guests, some who were present had lost their loved ones in the fight against cancer.
