August was a busy month for Mangala Kshema Trust. We held two free health camps on the first two Sundays of August. We held an Ayurveda health Camp at Village Agoda in Uttarkashi on the 2nd of August 2024. This was followed by another camp that was organized in collaboration with Ganga Prem Hospice, Raiwala and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer and Research Institute, New Delhi.
Raiwala Cancer Screening and Health Camp
The camp at Raiwala was conceived as a part of our ongoing initiative of providing free cancer screening and health services to underserved areas of the Himalayas. Here again, we collaborated with Ganga Prem Hospice and RGCIRC. They provided us with the venue, support staff, and doctors for the camp, while MKT and KCT pooled in with publicity, medicines, and volunteers for the camp.
The camp was scheduled for the 11th of August and it was decided that five Gram Sabhas from Raiwala area would be targeted for this camp. The main purpose for holding this camp was to get hands-on experience with what was required to hold such camps and how to go about it. This was to be our stepping stone for future independent health and cancer screening camps that we propose to hold in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand State.
Cancer Screening and Health Camp Report
GPH had generously offered it premises to hold the camp. It was convenient as they had the infrastructure and equipment required for the camp. They had separate consultation and check-up rooms for male and female patients.
The preparation for the camps began three weeks prior to 11th August the date of the camp. The names of the Doctors attending from RGCIRC were to be decided and the publicity material had to be prepared and disseminated in time.
Publicity and Information Dissemination for the Health and Cancer Screening Camp
The publicity and announcements commenced on Thursday 8th August and continued until 10th August evening. Banners were put up, posters were pasted in the targeted Gram Sabha areas, leaflets were distributed door to door to enhance awareness for the camp and encourage people to attend. An e-rickshaw was also deployed with a loudspeaker and toured the target areas for two days, ensuring that the news about the camp was heard everywhere.
Camp Report
The camp timings were from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm. There were a total of 5 doctors present. Three were cancer specialists from RGCIRC and two were from the palliative care team at GPH. Dr. Taranjit of GPH led the team.
The registrations started at 9.00 am and not many patients were present in the beginning. It was raining and we did not expect too many people to venture out in the pouring rain. However, slowly the momentum grew and a steady stream of patients continued to trickle in braving the rain and wet weather.
A total of 104 patients were examined by the doctors. Out of these, 2 were existing home care patients of GPH. The doctors found 3 suspected cases of cancer. These patients were advised diagnostic tests and directed to GPH partner diagnostic labs where the patients could avail discounts on the required tests.
Medicines were distributed free of charge to the patients as per the doctors’ prescriptions.
Takeaways From The Cancer Screening and Health Camp
Holding the camp at Raiwala was very insightful for the MKT-KCT team. We got to see first-hand what was required for a camp of such scale. We closely observed the work process of GPH to understand the working and the data collection methods that we could replicate.
After the camp concluded at 1.00 pm, the MKT and KCT teams sat down to discuss future collaborations for holding screening and health camps in Uttarkashi and other mountain districts of Uttarakhand. The discussion was very fruitful and it was decided that MKT and KCT would be signing a MoU with RGCIRC and GPH for future collaboration.
Conclusion
Overall, the camp was a big success for MKT and KCT as we now know how to prepare for the camp that we propose to hold in Uttarkashi at the end of September or after the monsoons are over.
If you wish to know more about our programs you may contact us at: mangalakshematrust@gmail.com or you can contact us through our website.
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