About us
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Yes to life is a
nonprofit & a non-governmental organization
- Awareness Talks
- Cancer Screenings
- Emotional Support
- Financial Assistance
- Rehabilitation Aid
- Community Outreach
- Her2+ Support
- Event Management
Who we are
Yes to Life is a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization started in 2014 and is working towards breast cancer awareness; cancer screenings; and patient support - emotional, financial and rehabilitation.
Yes to Life was started by Dr. Neeti Leekha Chhabra who dealt with the disease at the age of 31 years in 2012. She was joined by Late Ms. Shruti Sharma who was also a breast cancer winner and got diagnosed at the same age in the same year. The team is working towards downstaging breast cancer. The founder and office bearers of ‘Yes to Life’ do not charge any remuneration from the funds of the NGO, and all funding is used for the cause of the NGO.
Our Mission
Screen
We are working with the aim to downstage breast cancer in India. Early detection of breast cancer is a big step in achieving this aim.
We are working towards this direction in five ways -
Breast cancer awareness talks and Events - Working towards this aim, we take breast cancer awareness talks across corporate, schools, villages, factories, residential societies, schools, slum area. These talks are organized free of charge. In addition to covering aspects about breast cancer such as signs & symptoms, high risk factors, screenings, self-breast exam etc., we also include topics such as lifestyle changes and stress management in our sessions.
We also conduct breast cancer awareness events for general public. Some of these events include 10 day awareness drive with DMRC through which we reached out to 12,000+ commenters; 2 day awareness program ‘Fifteen Frames of Courage at Select City Walk (Saket) through which we reached out to more than 500 people; Awareness program at DLF Cyber hub (Gurgaon) that had 140 volunteers who formed a human chain with placards that had survival stories & breast cancer information, followed by awareness session and fashion show by cancer champions
Door to Door Awareness - Through our Breast Care Centre in Sec 45 Gurugram, the team has engages in community awareness by going to various villages in Gurugram. We do door to door breast cancer awareness where in we educate the ladies about self-breast exam, signs & symptoms of breast cancer and the importance of looking after their health in addition to handing over pictorial brochures that contain relevant information. Our teams are also present at various PHCs and UPHCs in these villages on immunization days to spread breast cancer awareness.
Free of charge Breast Health OPD - We run free breast health OPD for women from lower income section at our Breast Care Centre every Monday. OPD is taken by Dr. Kanchan Kaur, Chief Clinical Lead, Yes to Life NGO (Senior Director, Breast Services, Medanta Medicity).
Breast Health Check up Camps - Our team along with eminent doctors from the fraternity go to the Anganwadis of various villages in Gurgaon to carry on Clinical Breast Examination. These are free of charge. Women who are symptomatic and need further screenings are called to the OPD where in we support them for the required screenings.
Diagnostic Screening Support - Women from lower income section who come to our Breast Care Centre and are referred for screenings by the doctor (ranging from Mammography to Biopsy to full body PET CT) are supported financially by Yes to Life and we get these screenings done for the patients free of charge.
Sensitise
In this modern era and society, it is surprising to see that many of us still look at cancer as a taboo and if it if the breast it becomes even more of a problem. Some women with breast cancer do not come out in open even today to share what they are going through and seek support because some others still consider cancer a stigma. There are families which do not support the patients and though rare but some are still ignorant enough to think it can spread by touching. There is a dire need to sensitize people and educate them so that there is no hindrance in the support that can be provided to those touched by the disease.
Support
Our support for cancer patients is 5 fold –
Support group and counselling - we manage a support group ‘Happiness Surrounds Us’ that currently has 140+ cancer warriors. Members provide each other with positive outlook, faith and strength to manage the phases of diagnosis, treatment and post treatment successfully and happily. Most of the members in the group are in younger age bracket. This helps resolve queries of females in the age group of 30s to 50s as their problems are usually different from those in higher age bracket. We also provide counselling on phone and through individual meetings
Breast cancer support events - We organize support seminars for breast cancer warriors that are relevant to actual concerns and issues that people go through on this journey. Events cover topics such as positive living, reconstruction, immunotherapy, fertility etc. For positive living our Chief guest has been Brahma Kumari Sister Shivani and for other topics we have eminent doctors and experts from the fraternity.
Diagnostic Screening Support - Women from lower income section who come to our Breast Care Centre and are referred for screenings by the doctor (ranging from Mammography to Biopsy to full body PET CT) are supported financially by Yes to Life and we get these screenings done for the patients free of charge.
Financial support - In our endeavour to provide support to the economically weaker section of the society, we grant financial support for treatment and diagnostic investigation to patients. We also specifically take up cases of patients who are Her2+ as hospitals don’t provide this targeted treatment free of charge.
Rehabilitation support - Most of the breast cancer patients have to undergo surgery and many patients loose one breast or in some cases both. The news of cancer diagnosis is devastating in itself and then to live with a distorted body shape is a life-long adjustment. The treatment also leads to hair loss which unfortunately makes the cancer journey even more painful.
We distribute free SAATHI Kits to breast cancer patients from lower income group referred directly to us by hospitals/doctors. SAATHI Kit is an attempt to make this adjustment easier, and to try to bring a smile on the beautiful faces under-going breast cancer treatment. During Covid times, our team had been couriering the kits to the patients and post Covid the team goes to All India Institute of Medical Sciences to distribute the kits and we also distribute to the patients at our centre.
The kit has 4 items:
Weighted prosthesis (artificial breast)
Mastectomy bra - 2 (special bra with a pocket to keep the prosthesis)
Head scarf
Earrings (to make them feel special)
Meet Our Team
Dr. (Mrs.) Ramesh Sarin
Senior Consultant Surgical Oncology Indraprastha Appolo Hospital Sarita Vihar, Delhi
Dr. Kanchan Kaur
Senior Director – Breast Surgery, Cancer Institute, Medanta Medicity Gurugram
Dr. R. Ranga Rao
Chairperson - Paras Cancer Centre Paras Hospitals Gurugram
Dr. Col. Pant
Senior Consultant, Radiology Col. Pant Imaging Centre Green Park, Delhi
Dr. Vaneeta Kapoor
Senior Consultant Radiology Col. Pant Imaging Centre, Green Park & Fortis La’femme Hospital Delhi
Dr. Aditya Aggarwal
Vice Chairman, Reconstructive Surgery Medanta Medicity, Gurugram
Testimonials
“It took me 20 days post diagnosis to decide on starting my chemo. I was filled with fear and despair and that is when I met Shruti from the 'Yes to Life' NGO. The empathy shown by her, the warmth and comfort she gave me is hard to forget. You meet Neeti and Shruti and the energy and warmth that they radiate its so so lovely. After my first chemo, I was added to the support group which has been such a big support. It's like having an extended family."
Pragya
"Being diagnosed in my early thirties was devastating, as is the case with anybody at any age. But drawing inspiration everyday from the support group was the only motivation, aptly called “Happiness Surrounds Us” was the only motivation I needed to pull through those tough times. It was like being a part of this huge family, most of whose members I had never met but still felt this very strong bond that was nothing compared to any relationship that I had felt before."
Sumita Kohli
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for making this breast cancer awareness lecture successful and resourceful not only for the students but for the faculty as well. It was an honour for us to be able to hear your ideas. Although our institute strives to provide the best instructional experiences to our students but we cannot replicate the world of work experiences you presented to the students. Your ideas and deep insights sparked lively deliberations! “
Dr. Aparna Mishra