Disease not a death warrant and is mostly treatable, point out experts
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: Cancer is not a death warrant. It is a treatable disease, mostly. People still dread getting it in India because treatment costs a bomb in private facilities and the ones run by government are woefully short of manpower and infrastructure.
This scenario has to change to outsmart cancer, experts said on Wednesday in a roundtable discussion organised by TOI in New Delhi.
Dr Ramesh Sarin, senior consultant and clinical coordinator at Apollo Cancer Institute, said spreading awareness about preventable causes is one step government and civil society must take. 70% of cancers (40% tobacco-related, 20% infection-related and 10% others) are caused by preventable risk factors, said ex-dean of AIIMS Dr P K Julka. “Those at high risk, due to family history or ageing, should undergo periodic screening for early detection. This will help reduce mortality,” he added.
Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai and AIIMS in Delhi are flooded with patients from across India. Experts underlined the need to equip regional public hospitals with facilities.
“Treatment in private sector costs a lot and adds to patients’ woes. Government facilities are free but few,” said Dr Sudeep Gupta, deputy director of Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), one of the premier cancer research centres of Tata Memorial Hospital.
Antony Jacob, CEO of Apollo Munich Health Insurance, said wider coverage of insurance schemes can help reduce financial implications. “Only 25% of people are covered under any scheme,” he said. According to Sheila Nair, director general, Indian Cancer Society, cancer must be made a notifiable disease. “It will help us get realistic data on disease prevalence and infrastructure needed,” she said.
Every day, 1,500 people die of cancer in India, making it the 2nd most common cause of death after cardiovascular disease. 2,000 new cancer cases are detected daily, according to National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research.
Rumana Hamied, CEO, Cipla Foundation and Harmala Gupta, founder president, Cancer Care India, said palliative care has to start from day of diagnosis. “It should be an integral part of cancer care,” Gupta said. Ashok Kumar Kakkar, senior managing director for Varian Medical Systems, stressed the need to share success stories of cancer survivors.
This scenario has to change to outsmart cancer, experts said on Wednesday in a roundtable discussion organised by TOI in New Delhi.
Dr Ramesh Sarin, senior consultant and clinical coordinator at Apollo Cancer Institute, said spreading awareness about preventable causes is one step government and civil society must take. 70% of cancers (40% tobacco-related, 20% infection-related and 10% others) are caused by preventable risk factors, said ex-dean of AIIMS Dr P K Julka. “Those at high risk, due to family history or ageing, should undergo periodic screening for early detection. This will help reduce mortality,” he added.
Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai and AIIMS in Delhi are flooded with patients from across India. Experts underlined the need to equip regional public hospitals with facilities.
“Treatment in private sector costs a lot and adds to patients’ woes. Government facilities are free but few,” said Dr Sudeep Gupta, deputy director of Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), one of the premier cancer research centres of Tata Memorial Hospital.
Antony Jacob, CEO of Apollo Munich Health Insurance, said wider coverage of insurance schemes can help reduce financial implications. “Only 25% of people are covered under any scheme,” he said. According to Sheila Nair, director general, Indian Cancer Society, cancer must be made a notifiable disease. “It will help us get realistic data on disease prevalence and infrastructure needed,” she said.
Every day, 1,500 people die of cancer in India, making it the 2nd most common cause of death after cardiovascular disease. 2,000 new cancer cases are detected daily, according to National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research.
Rumana Hamied, CEO, Cipla Foundation and Harmala Gupta, founder president, Cancer Care India, said palliative care has to start from day of diagnosis. “It should be an integral part of cancer care,” Gupta said. Ashok Kumar Kakkar, senior managing director for Varian Medical Systems, stressed the need to share success stories of cancer survivors.
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