Andover's Atul And Ajita Bhat To Co-Chair 2023 TeamWalk For CancerCare

LOWELL, MA — Andover husband and wife Dr. Atul Bhat and Dr. Ajita Bhat have been named honorary co-chairs of this year's TeamWalk for CancerCare, organizers have announced.

The 24th annual TeamWalk for CancerCare is scheduled for May 21 outside the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

Sponsored by Lowell General Hospital, TeamWalk for CancerCare has become the Merrimack Valley's largest single-day fundraiser.

In 2023, more than 2,500 walkers participated in the walk through the streets of Lowell, raising $654,222 to support cancer patients.

Since its inception in 2000, TeamWalk for CancerCare, which includes the walk and several outside fundraisers organized throughout the year, has raised more than $15 million.

The Bhats will take over as honorary co-chairs from Carrie Meikle of Chelmsford, a cancer survivor who served as the chair for the past three years.

Atul Bhat is an interventionalist spine physiatrist affiliated with Spire-OSA Orthopedics and Tufts Medicine Lowell General Hospital. Ajita Bhat is a community volunteer who currently serves as a Lowell General corporator. She is a former volunteer at the hospital's Mass Vaccination Program.

Atul Bhat, Ajita Bhat and their daughters Amolina and Anushka made a donation last year to the Cancer Center in order to add a new examination room to Lowell General's Women's Wellness Center.

The new examination room will help to expand access to specialty-trained physicians who monitor and treat individuals with a high risk of breast cancer, according to hospital officials.

"After undergoing a successful surgery at Lowell General, we feel blessed to be treated at a local facility with excellent interdisciplinary care," Ajita Bhat said. "We are hopeful that patients in the entire community are equally fortunate to receive this level of support from the hospital and its caregivers, and we are thankful that the fundraising from the TeamWalk will serve that very same cause."

Registration for this year's TeamWalk for CancerCare is available online.