Free cancer treatment drive to kick off soon…..Kounteya Sinha
New Delhi: India is going all out against cancerthe noncommunicable disease (NCD) that affects 10 lakh new Indians every year and kills another four lakh.The Union health ministry is launching a national programme which will not only help diagnose cancer cases early among the general population but also provide chemotherapy free of cost.
At present,the two biggest problems with cancer control are that the majority of the cases are diagnosed in the last stage while those who are diagnosed cant afford the high costs of treatment in form of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.The ministry will first roll out the programme across 100 districts in 21 states.District hospitals will be strengthened to diagnose and treat patients with cancer with chemotherapy.Radiotherapy,however,will be done only in the 27 existing regional cancer centres,all of which are being upgraded.Besides,38 additional cancer centres are being created.
Speaking to TOI,Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the ministry has decided to give Rs 1 crore to each district hospital just to provide free chemotherapy to 100 patients per district.This means that the ministry will give Rs 100 crores (estimated cost of chemotherapy per patient per year being Rs 1 lakh) to the 100 shortlisted district hospitals only to provide free chemotherapy.
We have been warned by WHO that India is the next hub for cancer.That’s why we have decided to arm even the public health centres (PHCs) with capability and skill to both diagnose and treat cancer.We have set aside Rs 750 crores just for the cancer programme.The 38 new cancer centres will be linked to district hospitals.Auxiliary Nurse Midwives are being trained to identify warning signs of cancer while doctors in PHCs and CHCs are being trained to diagnose cancer cases early, Azad said.
Deputy director general of NCD programme in the ministry Dr Damodar Bachani said,Our budget per district for cancer control is Rs 6 crores.We will be releasing the money to 30 districts first by March 2011.Through the programme,we will carry out opportunistic screening checking for symptoms in the general population aged 30 years and above.
NIPPING IN THE BUD
* There are 25 lakh cancer patients in the country at any given point
* Cancer is the third biggest killer in the country,accounting for four lakh deaths every year
* About 10 lakh new cases of cancer are detected in India annually
* By 2015,the number of new cases in India will cross 15 lakh