Why Smiles Foundation

The Broad Spectrum of Health Initiatives in India

In a country as vast and diverse as India, the concept of ‘health’ encompasses a multitude of challenges and opportunities. The government, along with various public and private organizations, has launched numerous awareness programs addressing a wide range of health issues. These initiatives, ranging from mental health programs to women’s health drives, transplantation campaigns, lung cancer crusades, and the war against AIDS, have transformed the lives of millions, bringing critical health issues to the forefront of public consciousness.

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Our Causes

Medical & Health

Health Camps

40%

Education

Awareness & Education

65%

Early Diagnose

Early Detection & Screening

85%

Accessibility

Quality Treatment

85%

The Overlooked Domain of Colorectal Health

Despite the success of these health strategies, one crucial area remains glaringly absent from public discourse—Colorectal health. Colorectal cancer, one of the few cancers that can be cured if detected early, is rarely discussed, and colorectal diseases, in general, receive little attention in public awareness campaigns. This lack of focus is a silent killer, leading to preventable deaths simply because of the absence of timely diagnosis and treatment.

The Critical Need for Awareness and Early Detection

The silence surrounding colorectal health is particularly devastating, given that colon or bowel cancer is preventable and treatable when diagnosed early. It is curable in the majority of cases. However, millions, especially the marginalized, continue to suffer in silence, unaware of their condition or too ashamed to seek help. This neglect leaves countless individuals enduring pain and discomfort, often only seeking medical attention when it is too late.

Smiles Foundation: Advocating for Colorectal Health

Recognizing this significant gap in healthcare awareness, Dr. CM Parameshwara and his team at Smiles Hospitals established the Smiles Foundation. The foundation was created to address this void and bring colorectal health to the national stage. With a clear vision, Smiles Foundation aims to become the advocate of advocates, ensuring that colorectal health is no longer overlooked. By sharing stories like that of Meena, a 45-year-old mother from a small village in Karnataka, the foundation highlights the urgent need for awareness and early detection. Meena’s story is far from unique—thousands of others across India find themselves in similar situations, unaware that colorectal diseases can be prevented, treated, and cured if caught in time.

The statistics are alarming:

Lack of Awareness: However, they have remained one of the least discussed cancers in India owing to lack of awareness and this results to late presentation and poor prognosis.
Colorectal Cancer Statistics: Currently it is believed that over tens of thousands of fresh cases of colorectal cancer are identified in India every year and a major number of patients present themselves to the clinics when it’s already late.
A Preventable Tragedy: This possibility is however going to waste due to poor awareness despite the fact that colorectal cancer unlike many other forms of cancer can be cured if detected early.

Smiles Foundation is now out to alter this reality. Using advertising and promotional activities, community mobilization, and awareness creation together with healthcare service providers, the foundation has vowed to create awareness on colorectal health status. It is our goal to demystify the signs and symptoms and to increase awareness of early detection of colorectal diseases and give you the tools for an early and efficient management of the diseases.

Dr. Parameshwara’s vision and mission is built based on humanitarian heart and strong belief to create succor for every humanity. When he speaks, it is with passion and purpose; with a belief that no man woman or child should watch the light fade and pain deepen while they could have done something about it—and no man woman or child should die from an illness that could have been prevented. With his leadership, Smiles Foundation is indeed striving to see to it that more such incidents as that of Meena are a thing of the past.