Vijaya
Vijayalakshimy K Silvathorai is the Community Ambassador for NCSM and a breast cancer survivor since July 2012. Encouraged by her surgeon, she began as a navigator at the Breast Clinic in August 2013, starting with just six survivors. Over time, the program grew to include 20 navigators, expanding to support patients in lung, SOPD, O&G, and the Breast Clinic twice a week by 2018.
In addition to her role as a navigator, Vijayalakshimy has delivered talks at various events, including universities and places of worship. She also founded a sewing group to create prostheses and comforters for those in need and arranged educational talks for navigators and volunteers.
In recognition of her outstanding work, she was awarded the Global Hero of Hope by the American Cancer Society in 2015. She has contributed to three podcasts for NCD and was interviewed by BBC in 2019.