‘Saving lives by bridging the gap between developing and developed countries’ – An Interview with Breast Cancer Hub founder, Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy (Part 2)

Interview and words by Rinki Saha
Edited by Laurie Herviou and Lucie Yammine

How is BCH spreading awareness in the US & India?
Well, to be transparent with you here, in the US, we do not provide financial support. Rather I try to visit shelters to do screening and direct patients towards a care facility where they can get a free mammogram and treatments if needed. In terms of outreach programs in the US, our organization primarily focuses more on dense tissue complications in the detection of breast cancer, but also on the occurrence of breast cancer in men and cancer prevention. I am conducting global virtual seminars and ‘outreaches & awareness’ sessions in various communities in the US. Our Chapter Directors are getting involved in various community outreach. You can read about it here.
We also recruit school student volunteers, conduct mentoring workshops, and make them BCH ambassadors. Those student volunteers organize outreach events and speak about the early occurrence of breast cancer and preventative measures in the outreach program within their network or neighborhood. Therefore, the volunteers not only deliver a service to their community but also can acquire leadership skills. I also conduct Young Scientist Cancer Meet and mentor students to help with their career and inculcate the art of scientific thinking & thought leadership. BCH Scientific writers is another program where I mentor the students to write research articles on different topics of breast cancer or other types of cancer, bringing into limelight the scenario not only in the developed but also in the developing countries. We are about to publish 18 articles on breast cancer by BCH scientific writers this year on our website.

In 2018 & 2019 in India, I have conducted in person more than 140 outreaches covering cities, towns, villages, tea-gardens, hospitals, colleges, universities, research centers in urban and rural sectors. I am thankful to our collaborators who helped organizing these sessions. During the screening outreaches, I usually share my contacts with anyone with concerns and I guide all suspected cases towards the healthcare system, I provide scientific counseling, education, advocacy & treatment aid when needed, with proper followups. You can read more about it here.

Besides, I am mentoring our BCH India ambassadors & we are building lifesaving Early Detection Cards for all types of cancer. We produced Breast Self-Exam Cards for both women & men in 20 different local languages, and the translation was done with the help of our worldwide BCH Ambassadors.

Join us in two weeks to learn more about the long-term mission of Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy about this
non-profit organization.

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