By Angela Hill

Local doctor takes health to women in India

Mar 25, 2011 | 8:36 AM

Cancer screening that is now available to women in a part of rural India has a Prince Albert connection.

Dr. Lalita Malhotra, a family doctor in Prince Albert, who specializes in women’s health, has decided to take her passion overseas.

“That was the first country (that) made me a physician, I learned everything basic … and it was time that I wanted to give something back to where I was born and who needed help as well,” she said, from her office in downtown Prince Albert.

She decided to work with the Indian Council of Medical Research to try and implement a program for cervical cancer screening in women she calls “the poorest of the poor.”

“Seventy per cent of the population of India lives in the villages and those are the women we are targeting, those are the patients who don’t get any help,” she said.

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“If you’ve ever examined a patient who has a very severe carcinoma, that feel is always there on your hand and in your head.”

The message is prevention, stopping abnormal cells from becoming cancer, Malhotra said.

The project is to be based in a town on the outskirts of New Delhi because that is the location of central lab for analysis of the screening kits.

When the Saskatchewan Government heard what she was doing, they wanted to help.

“I think it’s a great story and it’s about a relationship between Saskatchewan and India that’s made possible by an expatriate of their country and a great community leader in our province,” said Premier Brad Wall.

The province is working on building a relationship with the people of India outside of commerce, he said.

“We view this as more than just a chance to sell things, more than just about trade and commerce, it’s about a relationship.”

While Wall did not visit a health clinic on trade mission to India, he said he hopes to visit in future trips.

The government has provided the supplies for the screening, so far there have been 5,000 kits purchased and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency is getting involved by providing informational material.

Malhotra took the first 2,000 kits with her when she went to India earlier this month. She met with the Indian government officials that will supply all the skills help, the technologists to take smears and pathologists to read them.

“I think it’s been very exciting and a lot of hard work for the past 18 months and networking … everybody has been great with the help, I must say and I feel fortunate that everybody was willing to help and we can get it going,” she said.

This is the first time Malhotra has reached back to her homeland in the 35 years since she’s left and she said she is looking forward to where the project can go.

“We’ll start with one health centre and see how much we can achieve there then we can move from province to province.”

ahill@panow.com