~ Nearly 1000 children are being treated at the new centers & Holistic Care is being offered by Tata’s ImPaCCT Foundation ~

MUMBAI 4^th DECEMBER, 2019 (GPN): With the objective of reducing patient waiting time, increasing the rate of early detection and providing holistic care to children, Tata Memorial Hospital offers childhood cancer diagnostic & treatment centers at 3 centers in India – Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Varanasi, Vishakhapatnam & B Borooah Cancer Institute in Guwahati. The Distributed Cancer Control Model seeks to take cancer care closest to where the patients are, to make treatment accessible and affordable. 

North, East, West & South, Tata Memorial Hospital reaches out to cancer affected children across India.

Dr. Shripad Banavali, Director Academics says, “Pediatric cancer is highly curable when treated appropriately by not just a medical multidisciplinary team, but by also providing all necessary support for families to undergo the treatment journey. This includes financial, nutrition, accommodation, transfusion and other support.  Setting up more centers across India, which provide such holistic care is the need of the hour in the country to tackle the burden of pediatric cancers”.

Dr. Girish Chinnaswamy, Head, Pediatric Oncology, adds ”Although there are good treatment options available for children with cancer in India, the majority of these treatments are in tertiary centers located in major cities. Hence, in the new hospitals which are being established, we anticipate that a large number of children with cancer will be able to access care which will significantly improve the outcomes of these children with cancer in these areas. The 3 cancer centers which are established are standalone comprehensive cancer centers providing all modalities of cancer care under one roof. Another one will soon open in Mullanpur, Punjab.”

Speaking about the holistic support that will be provided at all the new centers including financial help, support with accommodation and other domestic needs, Ms. Shalini Jatia, Secretary, ImPaCCT Foundation, Division of Pediatric Oncology said” The model at TMH, led by ImPaCCT Foundation, has been very successful over the last many years, in providing holistic care and other support to children and their families in Mumbai. This has not only improved the cure rate of childhoodcancer to over 70%, but also significantly decreased the refusal and abandonment of treatment by families. This has also been possible by establishing of partnership with our stakeholders- both Government and Non-Government agencies, who are committed to the cause.  Such a tried and tested model should be replicated by regional centers across the country so that the majority of the children diagnosed with childhood cancers are able to complete treatment successfully with minimal disruption to the rest of the family” ENDS