Cancer call centre, tailored therapies to combat killer tumours

Cancer call centre, tailored therapies to combat killer tumours

The next time you feel a funny lump, you can make a clean breast of it right there and then, instead of letting fear and diagnostic ordeals take over. A pan-India toll-free cancer helpline is all set to go on floors soon, the aim being to clear doubts early and bring docs and rehabilitation organisations under one umbrella.

"The objective is not just treatment but effective cancer management that can save many lives," said Dr Sidharth Sahni, breast surgeon and founder member of Cancer Research Foundation India (CRFI), the newly launched body behind this initiative.

The telephonic counseling service will operate 12-16 hours a day with an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu that lets the caller choose from answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the best of locally posted cancer specialists and monetary assistance, among other options.

It is part of "The Conquer Cancer Campaign" flagged off in the Capital on March 31, which includes combined public-private efforts towards awareness, specialised training, research and better treatment of the dreaded disease.

CRFI, the propeller, has on board renowned oncologists like Dr Goura Kishor Rath of AIIMS, Dr Tejendir Kataria of Artemis and Dr Rajendra Achyut Badwe of TATA Memorial Centre and plans to integrate hospitals, scientists and NGOs across states in the cause.

Babudom won't spoil the endeavour, proprietors assure. "We are very clear that the non-doctor members of the corpus are secondary," said Davinder PS Sandhu, Director, Prime Minister's Office, and co-founder of the initiative.

Organisations like Rotary, corporate majors and "philanthropic individuals" have shown interest in funding the crusade, but the government is yet to join in. "Health is a public matter, but expertise lies in private hands. The government, however, is most welcome to extend support," said Sandhu, stressing the need for compulsory mammograms and Pap tests before enrolling in government jobs, "just the way cardiac checks are mandatory."

Tailored, holistic cancer therapies as opposed to severe chemotherapy and other harsh treatments are also being explored as part of the project, apart from a dynamic online data exchange set-up for patients, researchers and experts in order to save time, costs and unnecessary panic, and dispel common cancer myths.