A musical that brings cancer to the forefront

In a first of its kind endeavor to raise funds for cervical cancer awareness in India, a leading cancer awareness organization CAPED has partnered with theater director Ritu R Chandra led 'I Have A Dream' musical. Based on the story of four strong women, who are bold, independent and live life on their own terms, the musical will be premiering in Gurgaon this spring.

The musical will be staged on April 7 – 9 at Apparel House, Gurgaon. The proceeds generated from the event will be used for the cause of increasing awareness and knowledge about cervical cancer, which is among the top two causes of cancer related deaths among women in India.

According to a report published in the Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology, approximately 132,000 women in India are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 74,000 lose their battle to the disease each year, accounting to nearly 1/3rd of the global cervical cancer deaths. Medical Practitioners believe that cervical cancer is completely preventable and the most effective way to reduce its occurrence in India is by creating awareness.

The play is an adaption of the 2009 movie musical Mama Mia which incorporates the melodious and upbeat songs of the group ABBA. Through this play, we wish to spread the awareness of cervical cancer to our audience. This initiative of ours, seeks to engage with a much larger audience that ever before.

Ritu R Chandra is a prolific theatre director who has displayed an inclination towards creating 'theatre with a cause', and has been associated with several theatrical endeavors that contribute to social causes.

"Despite being largely preventable through a vaccine and Pap smear tests, cervical cancer continues to claim thousands of lives in India. Unfortunately, most women, even highly educated ones, lack awareness or motivation about these preventive measures. We often tend to believe this disease will never strike us until it does. We need multiple campaigns and awareness measures to educate people about cervical cancer prevention and early detection. We hope people in Delhi NCR will support this endeavor and help us move ahead in realizing our cause," says Mridu Gupta, chief operations officer, CAPED Trust.

Arun Bharat Ram, Chairperson and Trustee, CAPED said, "What better medium than music and the theatre to convey a message, as music lovers and theatre goers can help in making a lasting contribution to cancer awareness. We can beat this disease but it takes every one of us to get involved. We have all loved someone who has been touched by cancer. And by supporting 'I Have A Dream Musical' we can help change those odds."

"In India, one woman dies of cervical cancer every eight minutes. It is a preventable catastrophe and 'I Have A Dream Musical' is doing a great job in bringing this awareness to the fore. I wish the team the very best of luck", said Padma Shree Dr Ashok K Vaid, Trustee, CAPED and Chairman – Medical Oncology and Hematology, Medanta Cancer Institute.

Alok Goyal, Trustee of CAPED and Partner at Stellaris Ventures and Mridu Gupta, Chief Operations Officer, CAPED Trust echo similar sentiments.

In its three year journey, CAPED Trust has partnered with a number of educational institutions and corporates to raise awareness about cervical cancer.