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Centre to expand cancer control programme

NEW DELHI: The Centre intends to expand its ambitious integrated National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) across the country in the 12th Five Year Plan. This is being done keeping in mind the increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases in India.

“We will focus on early detection and treatment of cancer right up to the district level through our cancer control initiatives and want the State governments to be pro-active in implementing these initiatives,” Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told The Hindu here.

The Centre launched the NPCDCS in July last year in 100 districts on an experimental basis. As far as cancer control programme is concerned, common diagnostic services, basic surgery, chemotherapy and palliative care for cancer patients are being made available in these districts. Support for chemotherapy is being provided for 100 patients at district hospitals at a cost of Rs. 1 crore per annum.

Assessment

“The pilot project should be fully in place within the next few months. We will access the programme and then extend it to all districts in the country,” Mr. Azad said. He said India was a step ahead in addressing the burden of non-communicable diseases for which the United Nations has convened a special session in New York in September where heads of States would come together to discuss the issue.

“The burden of non-communicable diseases is more in India due to the sheer size of the population and various socio-economic factors,” the Minister said.

The 100 districts where the cancer control programme — as part of NPCDCS is being implemented — are in 21 States of the country and were selected on the basis of backwardness, inaccessibility and lack of healthcare facilities. As of now, the programme is not being tried in the northeastern States and Union Territories.

The Centre is already providing the equipment and other infrastructure required for cancer detection and treatment to the district hospitals, and has now decided to pay for the cost of ad hoc appointments of technical staff to get the programme going.

Pay for ad hoc appointment

“The Ministry realised that the States were finding it difficult to generate resources to appoint trained people to run the diagnostic machines, so we have decided to pay for the ad hoc appointment for the time until the States take over,” Mr. Azad explained.

Once fully operational, the district hospitals will provide common diagnostic services, basic surgery, chemotherapy and palliative care for cancer cases.

While the focus will be on screening, chemotherapy drugs will be provided to 100 patients at each district hospital. In addition, these hospitals will also have day-care chemotherapy facilities and facilities for laboratory investigations, including mammography.

There will be a provision for home-based palliative care for chronic, debilitating and progressive cancer patients. As many as 65 existing centres will be strengthened as Tertiary Cancer Centres to provide comprehensive cancer care services.

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