BARAMULLA,OCTOBER,19:GMC Baramulla conducted a well attended programme on Breast Cancer Awareness om 18th of October 2023 at its Auditorium. It was organized by the department of Radiation Oncology and was attended by hundreds of people coming from different departments of the district including the departments of Health services represented by scores of Asha workers from different blocks, teachers and lecturers from various colleges, Legal Aid cell, St Joseph Hospital, AMT Nursing college,Haneefa Nursing college Sopore, the faculty, residents and nursing staff and students and other paramedical staff of the college. The inaugural session was chaired by the principal and Dean GMC Baramulla Prof (DR) Ruby Reshi in presence of Dr Nisar Ahmad Khan HoD medicine and Chairman academics and Dr Parvaiz Ahmad Masoodi, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital. Prof Maqbool Lone, while welcoming the guests stressed on the need of such programs on regular basis to make people aware about the unnecessary stigma and fear associated with Breast cancer.He thanked the principal for support,encouragement and guidance and said that she has , always been keen to upgrade and uplift the image of GMC and its associated hospital. He also thanked the medical superintendent for his organizational support and skills. Prof Ruby Reshi while expressing her happiness for organizing such events for the general public highlighted the achievements performed by the Associated Hospital. She informed the audience about the clinic which we call as “ Pink Clinic” has been dedicated to females only and stressed that females should come forward and get the consultation of specialist doctors. She also mentioned about the “ Superspeciality Clinic” started by the college where only super specialists see the patients. These are some of the innovative ideas which have been put into practice for the benefit of the patients. She also highlighted the activities performed by the department of Radiation Oncology and said that she is desirous of and will work for establishing a comprehensive cancer unit in the hospital. In his speech, Dr Nisar Ahmad Khan gave a detailed account of various issues related to Breast cancer saying that breast cancer can be cured if detected early. Medical Superintendent Dr Parvaiz Ahmad Masoodi,in his speech,talked about the achievements and progress made by the 300-bedded hospital associated with GMC Baramulla.He gave adetailed description of the achievements made by various departments of the hospital,saying that thousands of procedures including surgeries have been done which are more than the capacities we have.
This was followed by lectures by various experts . Prof M Maqbool Lone said that breast cancer has achieved the top rank in female cancers in Kashmir but there is a positive aspect that it is one of the cancers which can, to a large extent, be prevented to occur by simply avoiding or modifying the risk factors. He said that cancer is not a death warranty because if detected early, it can be cured. He also stressed the need for early detection by simple means like “ Breast self examination”. He also gave a detailed description of the myths or misconceptions associated with breast cancer. He said that the treatment of breast cancer is available in Kashmir.
Dr shahida Nasreen, Associate Profesor,Radiation Oncology gave a detailed account of the risk factors associated with breast cancer and explained how we can save our lives by simply adapting a health lifestyle. Dr Shaqul Qamar, Additional Professor Radiation Oncology SKIMS detailed various screening procedures and explained the procedure of “Breast self Examination” in a simple way. These two experts had been specially invited to share their thoughts about breast cancer with the audience.
Dr Baba Iqbal khaliq, Associate professor Pathology gave a lecture on the methods and techniques of the diagnosis of breast cancer.He stressed on the need of the latest techniques in pathological diagnosis of breast cancer as these techniques not only help in diagnosis of the disease but also guide us about the treatment of the disease as well.
Dr Hakeem Vaqar Ahmad presented a paper on the symptomatology and treatment of breast cancer.The treatment is always a multimodality approach and consists of surgery, chemotherapy , radiotherapy.immunotherapy and hormone therapy.
The event also included an impressive “ Interactive session” where the participants actively participated by asking questions to the experts. The experts satisfactorily answered their questions.The session proved to be very fruitful.
The whole event was efficiently conducted by Dr Fozia, senior resident of the departnet of General surgery.
Vote of thanks was presenred by Dr Shaista Mushtaq, consultant Pathology, GMC Baramulla.