Hands that save lives. Transforming a handicap into a skill

Considering that breast cancer is the first cause of death among Latin American women, its early detection and treatment are a public health priority in the region. This is evidenced in the World Health Organization's  public health study carried out by the International Agency for Cancer Research. The statistics are alarming. Currently, 60% of those affected do not survive the disease, basically as a result of a late diagnosis. 

Projections for 2030 are not encouraging, so it is important to take the necessary measures to reduce the mortality associated to this disease. In this line of action, the CAF (IIS) Social Innovation Initiative and the German Foundation  have signed an agreement to introduce in Latin America the program "Tactile Assistant Examiners". This is an unheard of initiative, where blindness is transformed into a skill at the service of the battle against breast cancer, opening a new field of specialized employment opportunities and labor insertion to the blind population. 

"The principle is simple, but the effects are deeply transforming, as they can significantly improve the quality of medical standardsEl principio es sencillo, mas sus efectos profundamente transformadores ya que pueden mejorar de manera significativa la calidad de los estándares médicos", states Dr. Frank Hoffmann, gynecologist and founder of this program, which is based on training blind or visually impaired women to carry out meticulous breast exams, which may last up to 45 minutes per patient, given their developed sense of touch. Hoffmann explains, "the traditional exam at the most lasts up to three minutes, which is not enough time to find small lumps in the breast tissue, which is crucial to stop the cancer on time". 

In Germany, Discovering Hands has already trained about 20 tactile examiners who currently belong to the network and work with different doctors and hospitals. To date, more than 10 thousand exams have been carried out throughout the country. 

According to Hoffmann, doctors usually find tumors of between 1 and 2 centimeters, and women who practice the exam on themselves find them when they are about 2.5 centimeters. "Our examiners find lumps of between 6 and 8 millimeters, which makes a difference when trying to gain time to prevent the tumor from disseminating in the body". 

The IIS CAF initiates the adaptation of the Discovery Hands model for Latin America through a pilot program in the city of Cali, Colombia, jointly with the Mayor's Office of Cali and its Health Secretariat, the  San Juan de Dios Hospital, the Center for the Rehabilitation of Blind Adults, and the Cauca Valley Institute for Blind and Deaf Children.