AMIDST the rising burden of cancer in India and the challenge of delayed diagnosis, experts believe that timely awareness and reliable health information can significantly improve treatment outcomes. In view of this, the Department of Surgical Oncology, AIIMS Bhopal, has entered into a partnership with ‘The DEAR Foundation Switzerland’. Under this, the ‘DearYou’ Women’s Health App has been integrated with the institute’s Cancer Awareness and Patient Empowerment (CAPE) Centre. The objective of this initiative is to provide women with scientifically validated health information, thereby making them aware of the timely detection, screening, and treatment of breast cancer and other diseases. How the app is helpful for early detection and women with low literacy ‘DearYou’ is a free multilingual digital health app that provides expert-reviewed content on breast health, breast selfawareness, menstrual health, period tracking, and emotional well-being.

 

The biggest feature of this app is its text-to-speech support and offline accessibility, which makes it extremely useful even for women with low internet connectivity and low literacy levels. According to experts at AIIMS Bhopal, timely awareness is the most effective way to prevent breast cancer. This app encourages women to recognise the early symptoms of breast diseases and adopt a healthy lifestyle, so that they can consult a doctor without any fear or hesitation. Role of CAPE Centre in Spreading Health Education The CAPE Centre of AIIMS Bhopal is an innovative initiative that provides easy-to-understand information about cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, side effects, rehabilitation, nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle through videos, posters, graphics, and counselling.

 

Developed under the guidance of Professor (Dr.) Madhabananda Kar (Executive Director and CEO) and with the support of the SET Committee, this centre works in line with the patient-centric healthcare approach of the National Health Policy 2017. Now, the Department of Surgical Oncology will include this app in the patient education activities of the CAPE Centre, where arriving patients, their caregivers, and visitors will be informed about the app and encouraged to use it regularly, so that correct health education can move beyond the hospital and reach their daily lives. Professor (Dr) Madhabananda Kar, Executive Director and CEO of AIIMS Bhopal, stated that the institute’s objective is not just to treat, but to empower people with authentic information. He said that this partnership will strengthen patient-centric and technology-enabled healthcare and help women recognise early warning signs. Meanwhile, Dr Vinay Kumar, Professor and Head of the Department of Surgical Oncology, explained that the ‘DearYou’ app provides simple and multilingual information, which will be reached to a large number of women through the CAPE Centre so that they can seek medical consultation on time without any hesitation. This joint initiative is a major step toward empowering women through knowledge and increasing everyone’s access to digital health education.