Aims to create awareness on retinoblastoma
LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) is organising its first ‘WHITATHON’ Run on May 20 to commemorate the World Retinoblastoma Awareness Week that will be observed from May 13-19, 2018. VVS Laxman and Tom Moody from SunRisers Hyderabad, the Indian Premier League (IPL) team unveiled the Whitathon T-shirt.
Retinoblastoma, most commonly (90 per cent) affects children below three years of age. 20 to 25 per cent cases of eye cancer worldwide in children are from India, and 50 per cent of cases worldwide lose their lives due to late detection and inadequate treatment.
The run will be flagged off from People’s Plaza, Necklace Road, Hyderabad, Telangana at 6 am. The funds raised from the Whitathon Run will be utilised for treating poor children suffering from Retinoblastoma free of cost, and to provide resources for future research to explore new treatment options for this alarming disease. The event is being supported by the Hyderabad Runners Society, the torchbearers of community running in Hyderabad.
Striving to create awareness, Dr Swathi Kaliki, Ocular Oncologist and Head – Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer, LV Prasad Eye Institute said, “Every day four children are diagnosed with eye cancer in India and worldwide, 50 per cent children with retinoblastoma die because of late detection. It is critical to create awareness on the importance of early detection of the disease, so that no child dies of eye cancer needlessly, and our children enjoy better chances of eye and vision preservation.”