Mumbai: Union Minister for Health and Family
Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the cancer treatment
centres across the different states will be connected online
to facilitate country's telemedicine services and medical
education.
The Health ministry is in the process of establishing
'OncoNET' (India), a network connecting 27 regional cancer
centres and 100 peripheral centres to facilitate telemedicine
services and medical education, the minister said.
"The peripheral centres at the district level would
initially be linked to the regional cancer centres," Azad said
during a function at Tata Memorial Hospital here.
The minister said Centre has allocated Rs 2,400 crore
for National Cancer Control programme during the 11th Five
Year Plan which is ten times more than the previous plan and
the focus is on community based cancer prevention and control
strategies.
"We have about 250 institutions in the country having
cancer treatment facilities and special focus is on early
detection of breast and cervical cancer," he said.
"I am confident that once the revised National Cancer
Control Programme is initiated, early detection and management
of cancers in women would be accessible and affordable at the
district level in the country," Azad said.
Noting that the most effective ways of prevention of
breast cancer is Self-Breast Examination (SBE) and early
detection, Azad said thre is lack of effort on the part of
doctors to promote awareness among women.
Azad also said that the vaccines targeted against
Human papilloma virus (HPV), one of the causative factors for
cervical cancer, was being evaluated for efficacy and safety
by Indian Council of Medical Research.
He asked the doctors to critically evaluate the new
advancement in technologies and its cost effectiveness.
Azad said it was a matter of concern that about
two-third of the cancer patients are diagnosed only at an
advanced stage when it is well established that cancer can be
controlled if diagnosed early.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Atomic Energy
Commission Anil Kakodkar who is also chairman of the council
of the Tata Memorial Hospital said effective and affordable
technologies are needed to the rural and remote areas.
Since the high cost of imported equipment creates a
barrier to the low cost technology "we need some protection or
policy thrust so that it does not happen, Kakodkar said.
At the occasion Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) launched
its Mobile Outreach pragramme jointly taken up by Women's
Cancer Initiative.
The outreach programme will cover about five lakh
population in Chembur, Mankhurd and Govandi slums in Mumbai,
Dr Rajendra Badwe, Director, TMH said.
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Director Srikumar Banerjee
said an indigenously developed technology for cancer treatment
-- 'Bhabhatron'-- will soon be made available in large
numbers.
Azad said Centre has established 'Health minister's
Cancer patient Fund' to reduce financial burden of cancer
treatment for Below Poverty Line (BPL) patients.
The fund has been set up with a seed money of Rs 100
crore and the state governments are also expected to
contribute to this fund, he said.
"Through this fund, the patient can be assisted with
upto Rs one lakh at any of the Regional centres and 40
Oncology wings Institutes that have been set up under the
National Cancer Control Programme," he said.
Besides, those patients are also provided with financial
assistance through 'Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi' which is meant to
support BPL patients who suffer from other chronic disease as
well.
The assistance is sanctioned to the patients getting
treated in government hospitals, after a screening committee
assesses their condition.
"This assistance can go up to Rs 20 lakh in case of very
serious and deserving cases," he said.
Azad said that it was surprising that in the last four
months, 90 percent of the patients who availed the funds
belonged to West Bengal.
"We want BPL patients across the country to take
advantage of this fund and doctors should help in creating
awareness among them when they come to the hospitals," Azad
said.
Bureau Report