Developing MDI

Our Focus on Breast Cancer

Written By Dr. Carolyn LaFleur

At its founding, MDI set out to help low-income patients in Dehradun, India overcome the barriers that kept them from surgical care at local hospitals. Many of these patients had strong family and community support, and MDI built on that foundation to promote better recovery, stronger outcomes, and improved quality of life.

In 2022, MDI expanded its outreach to breast cancer, focusing on early detection, education, and access to treatment. The work began with nurses in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan and, by 2024, had grown into a program spanning three states and six cities across India.

Why breast cancer?

The cause became deeply personal in 2022, when Dr. LaFleur was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer amid the ongoing challenges of COVID-19. As she navigated her own care, she recognized that her early diagnosis and access to treatment were gifts many women around the world never receive—and she resolved that MDI would help change that.

The need is urgent. Too many women remain unaware of their breast cancer risk, their screening options, and the life-saving importance of early diagnosis. Women facing economic hardship are especially vulnerable, as are certain ethnic communities—even in the world's wealthiest countries.

Today, MDI works to expand awareness, strengthen local education, and help more women gain access to timely screening and treatment. Across 2024 and 2025, we educated 1,000 students in schools and colleges and taught, examined, and provided diagnostic screening to 1,300 women in Tibetan settlements throughout India.

How You Can Help

Your support helps MDI reach women who might otherwise go without care—expanding breast cancer education, screening, and treatment access—while also funding a one-month global health program for medical students committed to service. Please consider donating here or simply follow along with our work. We'd love to hear from you at clafleur@medicaldiplomats.org.

Thank you for reading, and for helping to spread the word about early detection and treatment of breast cancer.