Oncologists and NGOs from across the country will draft a white paper comprising guidelines on cancer treatment and submit it to the Planning Commission at a conclave to be held in Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel after six weeks.
To create an organised structure for cancer treatment, more than 300 NGOs from across the country will be called for 'Can-India Conclave' — a conference aimed at uniting all sources for better health care facilities for cancer patients and their relatives.
"NGOs are working separately to aid cancer patients in the country. Through this conference, we will unite them under one umbrella and train them through various workshops on facility co-ordination for them. Accommodation, financial aid for treatment, food and travel will be handled separately by different NGOs under one banner," said Dr Purvish Parikh, an oncologist at TMH.
The idea was first generated on a micro-level in TMH after Shalini Jatia, a social worker, brought together independent NGOs to work in the hospital.
According to Dr Brijesh Arora, from the hospital's pediatric oncology department, the hospital receives more than 1,000 cancer patients every day, of which 80 per cent come from outside the city. "Since all NGOs have collaboration with the hospital's social work department, the relatives get a cheap place to live for the time the patient undergoes treatment. Some also receive monetary aid," he said.
Around 11 lakh people are detected with cancer every year in India. However, cancer has not been listed as a notifiable disease. "The white paper will ask for listing cancer as a notifiable disease so that the government gets a count of cancer patients in the country and can handle it better," Parekh said.
The white paper will also propose a suggestion for allowing NGOs to become implementing agencies of government funds. "Last year, out of the total funds earmarked for cancer by the central government, only half was utilised. This year Rs 3,000 crore have been allotted and not all funds have been exhausted," Parekh said.
Jatia said that since NGOs have better means of connecting with patients, they should work with the government in close association. "Cancer patients who come from weaker economic backgrounds cannot afford the expensive treatment. The collaboration of NGOs with the government will benefit these people," she said.
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