It is perhaps for the first time that any government function has given space for the media as an equal partner in the deliberations with the noble aspiration of taking Cancer awareness, Cancer Screening for early detection and Cancer cure to the last mile. Normally the media is a passive observer at all government functions and is only expected to report the event. The first ever Cancer Conclave in Meghalaya was organised in collaboration with a private partner – the Apollo hospitals which are known for their excellent and advanced cancer treatment facilities. Doctors lament that when they go for Cancer screening programmes in the districts and beyond, the response is not encouraging as very few turn up for the tests. This time community leaders such as Rangbah Shnong and religious heads were also involved. Cancer is still a much dreaded disease because of the misconception that once it afflicts a person it signals a death warrant. But several Cancer survivors have testified at public platforms and via social media that they have gone through the treatment regimen and are cured or on the way to being completely healed. Early detection is the key. When patients report the early signs, Cancer is detected early and it is curable with little expenditure, especially now that the Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme covers a large part of the treatment. But doctors testify that most patients come for treatment at the last stages of cancer which becomes a challenge for both the care giver and the patient too.
What also came to the fore during the discussions is the need for communication strategies that can effect behavioral change and where people are no longer wary of openly discussing Cancer. As of today Cancer is still a taboo almost as if talking about it is in itself a bad omen. This is where the disease has to be demystified by using development communication techniques which include information dissemination, education that leads to behaviour change and social mobilization where community members themselves will urge each other to go for early detection as a preventive measure. A communication strategy that brings about social change, and promotes community participation in the fight against Cancer would also mean that what is communicated is done in a language that is understood by people of respective villages. Communication strategies also mean using multiple platforms such as short films, short video messages from survivors and doctors leaving out technical jargons but in simple language that resonates with ordinary folks. Communication for behaviour change is not a one day, one week or one month affair. It has to be consistent and last over a long period.
Development communication has been labeled as the “Fifth Theory of the Press”, with “social transformation and development”, and “the fulfillment of basic needs,” as its primary purposes. The philosophy of development communication is anchored on three main ideas – Purposive, Value-laden, and Pragmatic. Communication that embodies these three principles will hopefully bring about the much needed societal response to the fight against Cancer.
