World Cancer Day: Cancer Survivors' 'Cycle for Change in Marathon' Flagged Off To Raise Awareness

New Delhi: The theme of the cycle rally, flagged off by AIIMS director Dr M Srinivas on World Cancer Day on Sunday, resonated with ‘Pushing the Pedal for Cancer survivors.’ The cycling marathon, titled 'Cycleforgold,' took place at AIIMS in New Delhi, aiming to raise awareness, address challenges in accessing care, and garner support from society for the treatment and care of children with cancer.
The official launch of the Global Challenge, part of the campaign 'Shaping their Future – A Call for a Plan for Childhood Cancer,' followed the inaugural flag-off in Lucknow on February 1, 2024. This marks the commencement of a 34-day movement starting from International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15th, extending to March 8th, International Women’s Day, covering a total of 2,00,000 km collectively.

AIIMS director, Dr M Srinivas, expressed his commitment to collaborating with stakeholders, including NGOs like Cankids Kidscan, to ensure 100% access and care for children with cancer. He congratulated Cankids Kidscan for their work and flagged off the cycle rally, expressing pride in its global reach.

Over 200 participants, including cancer survivors, parents, women cyclists, and leading doctors - all childhood cancer survivors themselves - took part in the rally. The Super Women Athlete Group, 'SWAG,' contributed 15 women cyclists. Bhawna Gaur, the leader of the cycle group, emphasised that every pedal symbolised hope and commitment in the fight against childhood cancer.

Poonam Bagai, Founder and Chairman of the NGO Cankids Kidscan, a cancer survivor herself, organised the rally in collaboration with the National Society for Change for Childhood Cancer in India. She said, "We support over 4200 children with cancer for a year across our 14-childhood cancer partnering hospitals in Delhi-NCR. Over 80% of them come from outside Delhi for treatment. Across India, we support over 20,000 children in a year, through partnerships with 141 hospitals including eight other AIIMS across the country, all of which should become Centres of Excellence for Paediatric Cancer."

Cyclists worldwide can register and contribute to the global challenge by cycling at any time and anywhere. With cancer becoming the leading cause of death globally, the initiative aims to address the rising incidence of childhood cancer, emphasising the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer's goal for India to achieve a 60% survival rate by 2030, requiring 100% Access2Care.