Guwahati, Aug. 25: Shying away won't cure breast cancer. That's the message India's biggest women's run, SBI Pinkathon, wants to send to women here on September 27.
Conceptualised by Pinkathon founder Milind Soman, the marathon is being held in association with the SBI, and the United Sisters Foundation and is being organised by Maximus Events and Media Solutions. Powered by Women's Horlicks - Empowering Indian Women, SBI Pinkathon focuses on the overall wellness of women while laying emphasis on breast cancer and bone health.
"Pinkathon is not just a marathon. It's the first step to help empower women in taking control of their life and health. I believe if the woman is healthy, it leads to a healthy family, a healthy nation and a healthy world. We want to imbibe the culture of regular exercise among women and encourage them to take up running," Soman, a super model, actor and fitness enthusiast, told reporters while announcing the Guwahati run.
A host of dignitaries, including actress Zerifa Wahid, IUCN member Parbati Barua of the Queen of Elephants fame, mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa, HIV/AIDS activist Jahnabi Goswami, president of Aashaa Bora Foundation Asha Bora, RJ Mandy from Red FM and Dr J.P. Sharma of GNRC Hospitals, were present to support the cause.
The marathon will start from Sonaram High School Field, Bharalumukh. The organisers are expecting around 3,000 participants at the city's first SBI Pinkathon.
The marathon has been divided into three categories - 3km, 5km and 10km. Monali Bharadwaj, a breast cancer patient, will lead the Cancer Sheroes Squad and be the 3km mascot. Hiramoni Kalita, a student of Guwahati Blind School, will be the 5km mascot for the visually impaired and RJ Mandy will be the 10km mascot.
All participants will get free medical check-up at the North Guwahati campus of GNRC Hospitals. Participants who are 45 and above can get mammograms done while those aged 35 and above can get the bone mineral density test done for free. SBI Pinkathon offers pre and post-training to participants.
While the registration fee for SBI Pinkathon is Rs 655, a special offer for Guwahati is Rs 655 for two persons. All proceeds raised from the event will be used by the Women's Cancer Initiative in its fight against breast cancer.
The marathon has been previously held in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. This year, it is being held in the Northeast.
According to the Population Based Cancer Registry (2011) under the National Cancer Registry Programme of the Indian Council of Medical Research, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and 15.7 per cent of women per one lakh population suffer from the disease in Kamrup (metro) district. About 80,000 new cases of breast cancer are detected every year in the country.
At the news meet, Bhradwaj said, "Shying away from not discussing about the disease won't help. Times are changing and it is imperative that we start talking about women's health. While I was undergoing treatment, I came across many breast cancer patients who didn't act promptly because they were ashamed of saying it."
