Hyderabad, Sep 30 (IANS): From historic Charminar to T-Hub, several iconic buildings in Hyderabad were illuminated in pink on Monday evening to mark the beginning of International Breast Cancer awareness month.

Historic Charminar, Buddha statue, T-Hub, Prasads Imax, Durgam Cheruvu cable bridge, and KIMS Hospital were illuminated in pink for a record 16th consecutive year by Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit breast cancer charity.

Illumination of prominent buildings in PINK is just one way to attract the attention and curiosity of people and raise the awareness about importance of early detection, said Dr. P. Raghu Ram, Founder, CEO & Director of Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation.

The idea started off in the year 2000 When the Estee Lauder group of companies illuminated their buildings the world over in pink to mark the beginning of International Breast cancer awareness month.

October is world over recognized as International Breast cancer awareness month. Every four minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and every eight minutes a woman succumbs to the disease, making it the most common cancer affecting women in India.

With 200,000 new cases every year and 100, 000 deaths per annum, for every two women diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India.

“Hyderabad is the only city in the world where so many historic monuments and prominent buildings have been turning pink for one night for the last 16 years. The aim of the Paint the City Pink campaign is to spread the message of hope, survival, and courage to those who have fought breast cancer, and equally, remind people that women over 40 must get themselves an annual Screening Mammogram to detect breast cancer early,” he said.

“As breast cancer cannot be prevented, the only way to fight breast cancer is early detection. To win the war on breast cancer, early detection is crucial. Women of all ages must be “Breast Aware” and report any new changes in the breast to their doctor without delay. Above all, women 40 years and over must get an annual screening mammogram done, which ensures early detection and is the key to saving more lives from the commonest cancer affecting women in India,” Dr Raghuram added.

Established in 2007, Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation - a not-for-profit breast cancer Charity based out of Hyderabad has been working with missionary zeal to transform breast cancer from a “taboo issue” to a much commonly discussed one through a number of innovative initiatives over the past 17 years, thus bringing about the much-needed awareness about the importance of early detection, resulting in many lives being saved from the commonest cancer affecting women in India.