MARGAO: Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced the completion of 1 lakh free breast cancer screenings across Goa, while speaking at a function held at the Raj Bhavan, Dona Paula, on Tuesday. The event was organised by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) in collaboration with UE Life Sciences Pvt Ltd, SBI Foundation, and You We Can Foundation.
Rane hailed the ‘Goa Model’ and said the government is working towards making Goa free of breast cancer and that his vision is to liberate Goan women from the shadow of breast cancer.
“Today marks an important milestone as the Directorate of Health Services, Goa, has successfully completed 1 lakh breast cancer scans, which is a remarkable achievement in free breast cancer screening for Goan women. This is a significant step towards eradicating the disease as part of the Swasth Mahila Swastha Goa initiative. We aim to extend our reach even further. The DHS is tirelessly working to make Goa breast cancer-free, providing painless, non-invasive, and free-of-cost scanning,” Rane said.
“The Women and Child Development (WCD) department played a crucial role in supporting this initiative by informing women about the importance of prioritising their health. I urge every woman in Goa to come forward and seize this opportunity for their well-being,” Rane advised.
At the event, the dedicated individuals who actively contributed to the success of this initiative were honoured.
Rane pointed out that Goa has around 2.5 lakh women above 30 years old, and DHS has scanned 1 lakh women for breast cancer. Reiterating that Goa is the first State to do so, the Minister said the government will complete the scanning of the remaining 1.5 lakh women in the next year and a half, which would help ensure that Goa becomes breast cancer-free.
He further pointed out that Goa has an excellent technology-led programme to win the fight against breast cancer by making early detection reach women right in the community.
Rane added that the non-invasive, and radiation-free iBreast examination has had a big impact in Goa, enabling the government to screen thousands of women quickly and effectively to identify early-stage breast lumps before it is too late.
Rane also announced that plans are afoot to make the Medical Insurance Scheme of the government more potent. He informed that injections worth Rs 2 lakh will be made available for breast cancer patients free of cost at Goa Medical College and Hospital from February 4.
