Cancer can be cured and the disease should not be stigmatized. This was the message which women cancer survivors gave Tuesday.

A cancer survivor’s meet held at the Indraprastha Apollo hospital here, drew more than a hundred participants who sought to dispel the stigma associated with the disease and spoke about the need for its early detection.

The event revolved around the theme “Don’t fear cancer, keep fighting”.

The cancer survivors, aged 25-30 years, spoke about their ordeal and how they managed to cope with it.

Nidhi (33) said: “Care is most important thing for a patient. Half of the pain is gone, when we feel that someone really cares because when we are under the treatment, we only see doctors and nurses not our family.”

Anjali, 32, a survivor of malignant tumour, had a similar story to share.

Sapna Nangia, senior consultant, oncology, Indraprastha Apollo hospitals spoke about breast cancer and cervical cancer, their symptoms and how to detect them earlier.

She encouraged women to have breast cancer screenings by self-examination and by mammography and also encouraged them to get cervical cancer screening done at least once in three years.

Ramesh Sarin, senior consultant, surgical oncology said: “Breast cancer is a curable disease if diagnosed earlier.”

The women cancer survivors have also created a group on Social Utility Network (SUN) site and Facebook named ‘YES (Young Empowered Soldiers) We Can’ to create awareness about the disease.

BDST: 1609 HRS, FEB 04, 2015