Self V Survivor Stories: Survival stories to inspire cancer victims
Kochi: Cancer survivors are set to launch fourth season of ‘Self V Survivor Stories’ that showcases stories of cancer survivors which can be inspiring for other victims to fight and overcome the disease. Videos of survivor stories are to be uploaded on social media as part of this and best videos will be selected for the finale to be held in Bangalore in September-October where special awards will be given for the best videos. Pink Hope Cancer Patient Support Group along with HCG which is a specialist in cancer care has unveiled the fourth edition of Self V Survivor Stories in a row. This year the theme of Self V Survivor Stories is ‘Celebrating Life’.
As incidences of cancer are quite high in the state, the main idea of the campaign is to break the stigma associated with cancer, inspiring cancer survivors to come forward and share their stories of hope, which becomes an ideal encouragement of hope for many patients fighting cancer. According to Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCR), as many as 50,000 new cancer cases are detected in Kerala every year, which exceeds the national average. The number of deaths from cancer is over 20,000. Amongst men, lung is the most common cancer followed by oral and stomach. While amongst women, breast cancer is the most common followed by thyroid and cervix. In recent times, tobacco related cancers have risen alarmingly. Among males 43.8% of the cancers are tobacco related and females 13.6% cancers are tobacco related in the region.
To participate in the campaign, cancer survivors would need to take a self-video of up to 60-90 seconds duration, capturing the story of their conquest over cancer and embracing their present way of life, celebrating every moment. The videos are then uploaded on facebook.com/selfv or on www.selfv.in and then will be judged by an external jury and the best ones will be selected for the grand finale of Self V 2018. Dr. Nalini Rao, support member, SelfV Survivor Stories, said the main aim of Pink Hope Cancer Patient Support Group along with HCG is to build awareness for patients fighting cancer and encourage other cancer survivors to share their survival stories. For more information on Self V log onto: www.selfv.in.
