Delhi, August 2022: This Sarcoma Awareness Month, Apollo Cancer Centres, India’s best cancer hospitals, hosted ‘Winners on Wheels’ cyclothon to spread awareness about Sarcoma cancer. This initiative was aimed to create awareness and encourage positivity about cancer treatment for a better quality of life. To shed light on how a well-treated cancer patient can lead a successful life, people volunteered to participate in the cyclothon as Apollo’s brand ambassador. Regional Cyclothons across 5 cities – Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Chennai are also being conducted to create awareness about Sarcoma Cancer & its symptoms.

The event was flagged off by Mr. P Shivakumar, Managing Director – Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and Dr. Shanthi Bansal, Director Medical Services, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. The clinicians, doctors and medical staff were present for the event. Local cyclist associations also participated in the cyclothon along with Sarcoma cancer winners.

Sarcoma is one of the cancers which affects the soft tissues or bone. Bone Sarcomas constitute as the third most common cause of mortality in adolescents. In addition to raising awareness around Sarcoma cancer, the cyclothon also promoted the need for a healthy lifestyle to ensure a future with less cancer risk. The gathering discussed the primary topic of reasoning on the forgotten disease.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. P Shivakumar, Managing Director, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi said, “At Apollo our endeavor has been to facilitate timely diagnosis and try and curb complexities. However, in case of cancer, many a time it goes undetected, and patients only consult experts when the condition has advanced to a complex stage. Hence the emphasis is always on early detection by identifying symptoms and prevention by seeking immediate expert intervention.” 

On the occasion, Dr Yatinder Kharbanda, Senior Consultant, Orthopedic surgery, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi said, “Sarcoma is a type of cancer that originates from the bones or the soft tissues of the body like cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, fibrous tissue, or other connective or supportive tissue. There are over 70 kinds of sarcoma based on where cancer crops up. The actual cause of sarcoma is unknown, but generally cancer forms due to mutations in the DNA within the cells, but risk factors include inherited syndromes passed down from parents to children, and exposure to chemicals or viruses. However, if diagnosed on time, sarcoma is preventable, similar to this case, where our patient was detected in the early stages of sarcoma cancer, such that with a primary surgical intervention, we were able to treat the patient successfully.” 

Sharing his perspective, the patient, said “I would like to thank and acknowledge the team of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals for helping me feel healthy again. We had lost all hope when I was detected with cancer, but it was because of the support and efforts of the team here that I was able to stay resilient through this journey of recovery.”