We were lucky to catch up with Dr Lopamudra Das Roy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Dr Lopamudra thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
As a cancer research professor and principal investigator, I was absorbed in conducting high-end experiments in the laboratory, deciphering the targeted Cancer therapies. But, I would meet patients with Breast Cancer, narrating their stories of trauma, ignorant of the screening processes and symptoms, leading to their death. I would hear eye-opening instances, for example, “Wish I knew a painless lump I felt all along was cancer, then I wouldn’t have been diagnosed at end stage”; “My wife died as I had no money to provide treatment for her when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer”, and many more similar cases.
Therefore, my heart always questioned if we were also addressing the fundamental challenges that could shift the paradigm of the healthcare system and save lives in underprivileged areas where there is no one to take care of them and also the urban populace unaware of the protocols of Breast Cancer screening. The thoughts grew stronger over the years with the urge to follow my dream, which I believed would make a difference. I took the risk and made the decision to resign from my rewarding job in 2017, and created Breast Cancer Hub, with a passion for saving lives by providing grassroots sustainable solutions, bridging the gap between developed and developing countries. BCH has substantially expanded over the years, branching out in catering to not only Breast Cancer in all Genders but also All types of Cancer, predominantly serving the USA, India, Arica, Turkey, and globally through our hybrid model, creating a global impact.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Being born into a multigenerational family of physicians, and experiencing their relentless work grounded me in the field of healthcare and community service. Growing up in Assam, Northeast India, and witnessing the dire straits of cancer patients and how it impacts families and can cause devastation in a very short period due to late detection leading to death, developed my interest in my current field. I was very keen on finding solutions and treatment modalities which led me to pursue my Ph.D. in Molecular Biology (Genetics) from India, and Postdoctoral Fellowship in cancer immunology & metastasis at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. After completion of my training, I worked at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) as a Cancer Scientist and Research Professor and was awarded grants as Principal Investigator from the Department of Defense cancer research program & National Cancer Institute to investigate targeted therapies and signaling pathways in breast and pancreatic cancer. My research work contributed to the scientific community with numerous high-impact publications, inventions, citations, and press releases from the American Association of Cancer Research and global media coverage for breakthrough work on discovering the signaling pathway between Breast cancer metastasis and Arthritis. I also completed my MBA from Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management, which gave me skills beyond my scientific and academic world. I have 22+ years of experience in Research, Teaching and mentoring undergraduate and Ph.D candidates in the field of Genetics and Cancer. My life took a turn when I took the decision to follow my dream and build Breast Cancer Hub (BCH) in 2017, as my full-time probono humanitarian work, to serve the community and patients, with 100% Free services, standing against discrimination of color, religion, language, culture, gender, and socio-economic condition. The inception of BCH stems from my discussions with Breast Cancer patients/advocates from across the USA, their stories of pain and agony when mammograms failed their diagnosis due to dense breasts. Breast cancer in men is on the rise but they continue to live with shock and embarrassment, battling the “stigma” of having a predominantly woman’s disease. I came across lives lost to Cancer irrespective of demographics, with the death rate being significantly higher in developing countries due to taboo, lack of awareness resulting in late detection, inaccessibility to healthcare facilities, and proper diagnosis/treatment management. All these challenges were addressed in our creative services, fighting breast cancer in women, men, and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as supporting the fight against all types of cancers, via BCH Wings, Cancer Hubs, with the goals of: 1) raising awareness and focusing on education, early detection, and prevention; 2) research at the grassroots level; 3) creating community outreaches, analyzing reports, navigating suspicious cases towards healthcare facilities, finding affordable options and taking accountability; 4) organizing screening camps; 5) adopting villages (BCH is the pioneer) for door-to-door cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment aid and management, and palliative care; 6) forming patient support groups; 7) providing medical guidance and patient counseling (one-on-one); 8) creating patient-care packages, including mastectomy or lumpectomy comfort pillows with a pocket that holds a cold or hot pack for healing, knitted chemo hats, and chemo port seat-belt pillows; 9) devising pandemic and flood response; 10) creating leadership mentorship programs to train next-generation leaders in healthcare.
100% of our services are FREE and 100% of donations are driven towards our Mission (Donor’s choice)
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
“Life is a roller coaster, with challenges at every step”. Coping with seven miscarriages, until being gifted by God with two miracle babies in 2010 and 2011, and many more difficulties in life, made me realize that we are tested at every juncture that evolves us stronger and more resilient person, for a bigger purpose in life. I was at the epitome of my career graph, the success that any scientist aspires for, grants as Principal investigator, investigating targeted therapies and signaling pathways in cancer, with high impact factor publications. Therefore, the pathway to building Breast Cancer Hub, by resigning from my paid job in 2017, and serving 100% Free, received a lot of criticism from family and friends, asking about the financial impact that would have on my family. My responsibilities as a mother and wife were also questioned because to execute sustainable ground changes in developing countries, I had to stay away from my young kids (6 and 7 years old in 2017), traveling to the remote rural sectors all on my own in public commutes risking my safety. In addition, when I penetrated the untapped conservative sectors in developing countries, openly discussing Breast Health with the slogan #BreakTheBreastTaboo, I faced subtle threats from the community. However, I remained stern and undeterred and continued my relentless efforts to provide grassroots sustainable solutions. Therefore, since the inception of BCH, my greatest reward of resilience are the smiles I bring to the families of innumerable lives saving each day in the urban and rural areas in utmost need, who would have otherwise gone undetected, even if I had to face the wave of criticisms.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
The road is always hard when our vision is to revolutionize and uproot the fundamental stigmas imbibed in our society since eternity, irrespective of socio-economic condition and education. We faced diverse challenges since we work both in Developed and Developing countries, urban & rural sectors, leading to hurdles that we never got trained into, but learned through our field experiences. Our success is rooted in strategically improvising and molding our programs and services based on the circumstances and the needs of the community, making changes to address the concerns as we progressed, taking accountability by providing sustainable solutions, keeping the vision and mission intact, with our core values – Ethics, Integrity, and Transparency
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.breastcancerhub.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breastcancerhub/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breastcancerhub/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breastcancerhub/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BreastCancerHub
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZvTfrE-8pYTKGVPlllC0Yg/videos
Image Credits
@Breast Cancer Hub, All rights reserved