They say “Cancer – Together we can fight back”, they also say “Join us in the fight”, but this time to fight back in systematic yet delicate manner for such a sensitive issue dealing with many lives government has finally called of setting up 49 – cancer centre’s with coming 3 years, India, reported Times of India.
31 cancer center’s already existing in India, are prevailing the cancer treatments but with growing cancer causes, a big pitch for survivals treatment is must and hence these 49 new center’s will be an addition to already existing 31 centers.
A brief proposal has been presented by Health Ministry if India with detailed information that will be reviewed by the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) at a high-level meeting to be held on Monday.
According to the proposal, reviewed by TOI, the ministry has estimated a cost of around Rs 3,495 Crore to implement the scheme over the next three years. The cancer centers will be set up in a phased manner under the existing National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke. On-communicable diseases, especially cancer, are increasing at an alarming rate. However, there is a serious dearth of facilities, mainly at the district level.
The centers will be constructed under National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke.
“The idea is to make treatment options available across India so that patients do not necessarily have to travel to Delhi and Mumbai, which often leads to additional costs like accommodation, traveling etc,“ an official said.
According to the case study of 2015 conducted by a consultancy firm, Ernst and young, India has 250 core centers for cancer patient out of which only 15% are under the intelligence of Government surveillance & around 40% of the centers are belonging to 8 metropolitan cities. Thus to make treatment option more feasible, expansion in the network is must on call as per the officials.
In India, over 7 lakh cancer victims are forced to die out of 10 lakh cancer captured patients every year due to lack of availability of treatments. Projections by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) show that India is likely to have over 17.3 lakh new cases of cancer and over 8.8 lakh deaths due to the disease by 2020. Apart from setting up cancer center’s -which include construction or upgrade of existing facilities like district hospitals, regional cancer center’s and government medical colleges -the government’s program will also provide support for high-end equipment and advanced technology for cancer treatment, the official said.
Discussing detailed version of development, an add around of 175 radiotherapy machines will be observed to the graphs of 600 radiotherapy machines existing in the country as per estimates by the WHO.
The proposal also entails the creation of more facilities for oncology, onco-surgery, chemotherapy and palliative care for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of cancer.“These institutes will also mentor all cancer-related activities, including research and development, in their respective areas,” the official said.
India records over millions of cases are enrolled every year for cancer treatment in a population of 1.2 billion. In 2012, over 60,000 deaths in India were caused by cancer.
As per Indian Council of Medical Research report, they suggest that India is likely to see over 17.3 lakh new cases of cancer and over 8.8 lakh deaths due to the disease by 2020 with cancers of breast, lung, and cervix topping the list.
Along with the setting up of new cancer center’s and upgrading the existing center’s and government medical colleges, the government’s initiative is also looking to provide high-end equipment and advanced technology for cancer treatment, the official added.
Setting up new institutes and center’s will also help in diagnosing, preventing and treating all cancer-related activities including research and development in various areas as per the officials.
