In a significant move to tackle breast cancer at the grassroots level, a unique initiative is empowering women in India's villages with the knowledge and skills for early detection. The Sevak Project, led by US-based medical professional Thakor Patel, is conducting hands-on training sessions for rural women on how to perform self-breast examinations.
Bridging the Healthcare Gap with Practical Training
Since January 2025, this community-driven program has successfully reached over 300 women across villages in the states of Gujarat, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu. The project directly addresses a major challenge: the severe lack of access to mammography machines and specialist oncologists in remote areas. Instead of relying on conventional poster-based awareness, the initiative focuses on practical, hands-on demonstrations of the correct self-examination method.
"The Government of India has excellent awareness material, but in villages there is little scope for practical demonstration. That is where this intervention makes a difference," explained Thakor Patel. To ensure effective outreach, the village-level sessions utilize audio-visual aids and instructional videos in local languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, and Tamil.
A Community-Driven Model for Maximum Impact
The project's strength lies in its community-centric approach. It is currently active in more than 30 villages, with a significant presence in Gujarat (around 30 villages), four in Bihar, and one in Tamil Nadu. To encourage participation, male volunteers motivate women within their families to attend the sessions. Female coordinators then conduct the training, ensuring a comfortable environment, especially in regions like Saurashtra.
The impact of this model is already tangible. During a session in Dharoi village of Mehsana district, Gujarat, a woman was identified with advanced-stage breast cancer. Thanks to the project's network, she was immediately referred for treatment through the public healthcare system.
This initiative was born from expert advice. Medical professionals at Vadodara's SSG Hospital had earlier suggested to Patel that self-examination could serve as a vital first line of defence for rural women, given the near absence of mammography facilities. Volunteers also assist participants in navigating Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) for further evaluation.
Beyond Cancer: A Holistic Rural Health Mission
The Sevak Project's vision extends beyond cancer awareness. It is tackling a spectrum of rural health concerns through integrated efforts:
- Monitoring women's haemoglobin levels to combat anemia.
- Extending telemedicine services to remote villages.
- Conducting screenings that have identified several previously undiagnosed cases of diabetes and hypertension.
The project also implements practical solutions based on ground realities. In Saurashtra, it distributed small refrigerators after discovering that diabetic patients were storing insulin improperly, which reduces its effectiveness. Similar interventions are underway in Gandhinagar district, where patients often depend on neighbours' refrigerators.
Furthermore, the initiative provides direct sponsorship for individual medical cases, supports the education of a nursing student in Bihar, and is funding cancer treatment for a patient in Mota Kalavad village of Devbhumi Dwarka district.
Thakor Patel, a Kenya-born medical professional who retired as a Captain in the US Navy Medical Corps in 1998, said his decades of global experience inspired him to launch this effort. "With rural India forming the backbone of the population, much more needs to be done to reach women where they live," he stated, underscoring the mission's core philosophy.
