Over 300 ladies walk, laugh, dance, socialise for cancer awareness; donate hair for wigs

Mysore/Mysuru: It was a women’s day out as over 300 of them walked, laughed, danced and socialised from the Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple premises in city this morning as part  of the ‘Saree Walkathon’, braving the morning chill.

The walkathon was organised by V Sakhi, Rotary Mysore East, Shakthi and Narayana Hrudayalaya to create awareness about breast cancer. Women gathered at the Palace North Gate venue as early as 6 am and the walkathon was flagged off at around 7.30 am by member of erstwhile royal family Pramoda Devi Wadiyar.

Clad in colourful sarees, women walked around the Mysore Palace, covering a distance of about 3.5 kilometres. They performed Zumba dances at a couple of places and attracted onlookers.

The walkathon covered K.R. Circle, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Office, CADA Office, Varaha Gate and Jayamarthanda Gate of the Palace, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Circle (Hardinge Circle) and back to Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple.

After the walk, over 30 women donated their hair for the cancer victims (hair collected to make wigs for cancer patients) and over 40 women underwent breast screening for cancer detection at the free breast cancer screening camp organised at the venue. Pramoda Devi Wadiyar called upon women to maintain their good health and go for health check-ups frequently for disease detection and cure.

Cancer surgeon Dr. Ramya Yethadka, who is also the Founder of Shakthi, called upon women to get their breasts checked regularly for lumps. “Consult a doctor or even women can do self-examination using simple techniques at their homes. Breast cancer is spreading among women rapidly and early detection is the only solution,” she added.

Dr. Mekhala Swethadri of Narayana Hrudayalaya spoke about breast cancer. Elizabeth Shakuntala of Rotary Mysore East, V Sakhi President Bhanu Anand, Co-founder Rajalakshmi, Dr. Vidya, G.M. Nirmala Madappa and beautician G. Jamuna were present  on the occasion.