KMC Hospital MOU with Jiv Daya Foundation to Improve Cancer Care for Children

KMC Hospital MOU with Jiv Daya Foundation to Improve Cancer Care for Children

KMC Hospital Mangalore signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Jiv Daya Foundation, Dallas, USA to improve cancer care for children in Mangalore region.

Dr. Harsha Prasada L, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist and Oncologist, KMC Hospital Mangalore said, "Paediatric Haematology and Oncology division of KMC Mangalore, is the only dedicated unit in the entire coastal Karnataka. The MOU with Jiv Daya Foundation, a US based Charity organisation, will help in improving outcomes for paediatric cancer patients. The foundation will support infrastructure care, provide dedicated staff nurse, social workers and data managers to our paediatric haematology and oncology units across KMC hospitals in Mangalore to improve overall care of children with cancer. It would also help to improve our data collection tools to better define the scope of cancer in India."

Cancer in children is highly curable. In developed countries, survival rate of all paediatric cancers is approximately 75%. However, survival rates in India are estimated at less than 50%. Due to inadequate numbers of trained paediatric oncologists, lack of awareness and poor treatment facilities, many children diagnosed with cancer do not receive any initial treatment and if at all it is started, the treatment may not be followed up properly or might be abandoned altogether.