National Association of Blind India (Centre for Blind Women) along with Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj (FHVK) on Wednesday presented a unique breast screening technique ‘Discovering hands’ in which blind women called as Medical Tactile Examiners (MTE) detect breast cancer by touching a breast. The technique has given them a new life and a chance to explore their talent, say MTEs. The MTEs will see women in FHVK’s Out Patient Department (OPD).
Hasiba, one of the examiners said, “When we were given a chance to work at our own OPD in the hospital, we felt like we had been given a chance to prove ourselves and showcase our talents. We are truly grateful for this chance.”
Similarly, Sakshi said, “What we do here gives us a purpose. Our technique is new and innovative.”
Discovering hands® is a unique initiative from Germany that trains visually impaired women to become MTEs, using their highly developed tactile sense to identify the minutest abnormalities in the breasts. In a nine month long training program supported by Bayer Crop Science, blind and visually impaired women are trained to screen patients of all age groups and also detect breast cancer.
According to Shalini Khanna, Director of National Association for the Blind (Centre for Blind Women), the way to reach the pilot project was like a roller coaster ride.
“The road to reach pilot project was a roller-coaster ride. With support from Bayer Crop Science and Discovering Hands, Germany when we started the project we were sure that these girls will be perfect to develop the heightened skill for screen so deeply and with accuracy as MTEs and they lived up to our expectations. I am happy to see them working in their own OPD at a hospital and thankful to the FHVK team who supported us,” she said.
Dr Mandeep S Malhotra, Head, Department of Surgical Oncology, Fortis Hospital said that moreover about 30 pc of Indian women have dense breasts which are not idle for mammogram which makes it difficult to detect cancer early.
“We can save almost 90 pc of our patients from this dreaded disease if we catch it at an early stage. By integrating the methodology of sonomammography with the tactile power of blind woman, we can catch breast cancer early and save precious lives. The technique will also help preserving the privacy of women who will come for screening,” he said. The MTEs can detect a lump as small as 0.5 centimeters, he added.
The MTEs so far have helped to screen more than 100,000 women in Germany, Austria and Columbia.