Mangaluru :
When she was 12, she knew she would do something big. Thirteen years down the line, Aafreen Rachel Vaz, the first runner-up at fbb Femina Miss India 2015, has done it.
She will launch her own institute – Early Detection for a Better Future (EDBF) – which will work towards spreading awareness about breast cancer among Indian women. The institute, which will be launched on Tuesday, will concentrate on breast cancer. It will, later, bring under its umbrella other diseases which can be detected early.
“I do have a reason (for taking up breast cancer) – but that reason just served as a trigger. I lost a loved one at a very young age in Mumbai simply because it was misdiagnosed. I don’t think misdiagnosis on cancer should lead to someone’s death,” Aafreen, a third-year medical student at AJ Institute of medical science, Mangaluru, told TOI.
Aafreen’s resolve was strengthened when she won a scholarship from the Royal Society of Breast Cancer, New Zealand, and worked in the field for a year. She completed her Bachelor in Science with a major in physiology from the University of Otago, New Zealand, apart from doing a one-year course in radiation therapy from the same university.
Miss India was not even on cards; it happened by chance. Aafreen had directed a 45-minute film, ‘The Untrodden Path’, to enter a competition at Jipmer, Puducherry. Just then, Campus Princess, a pageant of the Times Group, was held. Aafreen was chosen winner, giving her automatic entry into Femina Miss India.
“I knew it was a one-month thing and studies would lag. But what better platform to launch many things which I dreamt of early, and why would not I go for it?” said Aafreen.
“It’s selfish to promote an NGO for a cause from which I will get a lot of satisfaction,” she quipped.
How will she balance her studies and handle the new responsibility? “The stress factor will be governed by my plan of action and how well my college is going to work with me. If I feel the stress is taking me to a point where I can’t handle it — I doubt it will happen — I will take a break from studies. But I will complete it (medicine). I have not thought about specialization, but oncology or psychiatry would be the choice,” Aafreen said.
Her Mangaluru roots are “too complicated to explain”. But her father would love a good chat in Konkani, she said, adding her parents were very happy to hear about her success. “I came to know that my mother had a shrill voice when she screamed with joy over the phone from New Zealand,” said Aafreen.
Getting into medicine was made easier by her parents, who asked her to go for what she is naturally good at, what she would enjoy doing and be successful at. “I’m good at human body systems. I’m lucky that my cause and my chosen career path go hand in hand.”
She will not refuse offers from Bollywood, Aafreen said. “I have been given offers, but my present commitment will not allow. Acting is natural to me as it has helped me get out of many a situation.”
She plans to hold a women’s marathon in Mangaluru soon to promote EDBF and raise awareness on breast cancer. “This will happen in a couple of months as I will away with Miss World commitments.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / TNN / April 07th, 2015
