DPS R.K. Puram was invited to attend the First Conference on Environmental and Occupational Determinants of Cancer: Interventions for Primary Prevention, an initiative of NCI-INDIA, AIIMS, at Jawaharlal Nehru Auditorium, AIIMS on 26 and 27 May 2018.
Aanya Soni, Adya Pandey, Anvi Nehra, Aparajita Kale, Bhavya Dhyani, Duvanshi Khandelwal, Harshit Narayan, Megha Chhabra, Prarthna Chona, Sanjana Nanda, Sanya Sirpaul, Siddhant Parekh, Shreya Rao, Siya Sabharwal and Soumya Sharan of Class XI along with Ms. Niva Chhonkar, Head of Biology Department and Ms. Rupa Das,Head of Geography Department, attended this program.
The overall objective of the Conference was to review the policy framework and environmental interventions that have proven successful for the prevention of selected cancers and further mobilize public health and scientific communities, civil societies and media towards that end, to Identify gaps and barriers for the promotion of the existing interventions of primary prevention and create awareness about environmental factors that have an adverse effect on human health.
Welcome address and introduction of participants was given by Dr. GK Rath, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology and Chief, AIIMS and Head, NCI (National Cancer Institute).
Scope and purpose of the meeting was delivered by Mr. CK Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, forest and Climate change, Government of India.
The lecture was delivered by Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, Chairman Cancer Care, Director and Chief Consultant, Department of Surgical Oncology, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, Delhi.
The session discussed and outlined the major environmental risk factors related to cancer, the difficulties faced in qualifying/ assessing the cancer risks due to environmental carcinogens such as POPs and others and the associated cancer burden. A summarization of the scientific evidence of the environmental determinants of cancer was delivered by Dr. Anil D’ruz, Director, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
The other speakers included Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bihar, Dr. Navneet Kumar Dhamija, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Mr. SS Yadav, Administrator, UT Administration of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Dr. SK Shrivastava, Director, Department of Radiation Oncology, Apollo Hospital, Mumbai, Dr. Kameshwar Prasad, Professor and Head, Department of Neurology and Chief-Neurosciences, AIIMS, Delhi and Dr. Tanuja Nesari, Director, AIIA, New Delhi.
In a session on interventions targeting individual behavioral change on smoking exposure at public places and interventions and existing rule for tobacco control, Siddhant Parekh and Aanya Soni, students of DPS R.K. Puram were among the panelists.
The panel moderated by Dr. Alok Thakar, Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, AIIMS included Mr. Devesh Srivastava, Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police, Dr. Tanvir Kaur, Scientist F, ICMR, Government of India, Dr. Anil D’cruz, Mr. Satyendra Pratap Singh, Assistant Editor, Business Standard, Dr. Tulika Seth, Professor, Department of Hematology, AIIMS.
A Survivor Success Story Lecture was delivered by Ms. Manisha Koirala, an actress . She emphasized on setting priorities, having gratitude and most importantly being happy. She shared with the audience her battle with cancer and how she overcame depression.
This lecture was followed by a Public Interaction Panel which included panelists Ms. Manisha Koirala and Dr. GK Rath. They discussed personal stories and facts and various myths associated with cancer.
