The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Palliative clinic for terminally ill to be set up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Palliative clinic for terminally ill to be set up

Staff Reporter

the M.N.J. Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, which has been offering palliative care for terminal cases for the last three years, has recently received support from the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR).

HYDERABAD: To improve care for terminally ill cancer patients, the M.N.J. Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre is working towards setting up a full-fledged pain and palliative ward apart from starting a home care service.

The Institute, which has been offering palliative care for terminal cases for the last three years, has recently received support from the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR). Along with the American Cancer Society, the Network has also provided grants and a consultant for the Institute.

On an average, the Institute handles about 160 new cases of advanced cancer every month where cure is not possible. Most of these patients suffer from excruciating pain, intractable vomiting, intestinal obstruction, breathlessness, malignant wounds with disfigurement and bleeding, says Assistant Professor Durga Prasad. "Apart from pain, emotional disturbance is another major factor to be addressed at this stage," he points out.

Specialised staff

"When other modalities of treatment fail and the clinician feels that a patient has reached an incurable stage, he or she is referred to the pain and palliative unit," says the Institute Director B.N. Rao. Here they are put under care of specialised staff that includes trained nursing personnel, social workers, volunteers and yoga instructors.

"In terminal cases, the pain is very excruciating and our effort is to alleviate the same.

For this purpose, we are also procuring some specialised equipment including infusion units," informs Dr. Rao.

`Bereavement support'

Since the disease ends up putting the patient under heavy distress, the palliative unit staff also trains the afflicted person's family and attendants on ways of proper handling.

And as the family is also affected to a large extent, they are working towards starting what is called `bereavement support' practice.

"We want to support the family in their times of distress and help the children with rehabilitation," says Gayatri Palat, INCTR Consultant and Project Director.

"We will visit patients who cannot or do not come to the hospital and provide them with care at home itself. Initially we intend covering a radius of around 20 km," Dr. Gayatri adds.

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