Over 200 Narayana Health Doctors, Nursing, Paramedics & Support Staff participated in a Walkathon to raise awareness about Paediatric Cancer

The event was organized on occasion of The International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD), which is observed on 15th Feb 2023. Childhood cancer is devastating reality that affects families all around the world, with almost 300000 children expected to be diagnosed in 2023, out of which approximately 40000 are expected to be diagnosed in India. ICCD is a day to raise awareness, show support to children and families affected and to celebrate the progress that has been made in the treatment and renew our commitment to find a cure. The theme for this year is "better survival is achievable through #throughtheirhands".

Dr Sunil Bhat, Vice-Chairman Oncology, Director & Clinical Lead - Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Blood & Bone Marrow Transplantation at Narayana Health, highlighted that childhood cancer is highly curable with cure rates approaching 80-85 per cent in Western world, however the cure rates in India are still in range of 40-60 per cent. Dr Bhat also threw light on challenges in India are lack of awareness, delayed diagnosis, lack of dedicated paediatric oncology centres, expenses incurred in the treatment etc.

The walkathon witnessed overwhelming participation with participants spreading the word on fighting the disease menace through effective slogans and placards. The messages were bold and clear emphasizing on children dealing with the disease to not treat it as a stigma and getting treatment on time as it is curable in the early ages. The walkathon was attended by cancer survivors, their families, doctors, nurses, medical & non-medical team. To strengthen its presence in cancer care solutions in the Karnataka region, Narayana Health had recently inaugurated a new Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit at Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre, Narayana Health City.

With all the super-speciality tertiary care facilities that the medical world offers, Narayana Health is a one-stop healthcare destination for all. Founded by Dr Devi Shetty and headquartered in Bengaluru, Narayana Health group is the second-largest health care provider in the country in terms of operational bed count. The first facility was established with approximately 225 operational beds in year 2000 at NH Health City in Bengaluru. The Company today operates a chain of multispecialty tertiary and primary healthcare facilities across a network of 21 hospitals and 4 heart centres in India and single hospital overseas at Cayman Islands with nearly 6145 operational beds across all its centres and potential to reach a capacity of over 6,490 beds (For details, visit www.narayanahealth.org).

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