Cancer : The Rich Man's Disease

The word itself strikes a death knell in the heart of the common man. The disease is seemingly not treatable and has a plethora of myths surrounding its detection. India itself has a large number of cancer patients, who have been diagnosed at late stages of the disease. The commonest forms of cancers in India are breast, cervical and oral cancer. Breast cancer alone makes up about 25-30% of all cancer cases. The numbers are startling; over 8 lakh new cases are diagnosed in India annually according to the Economic Times. ICMR has suggested that there will be 17 lakh cases by 2020 annually.

There are free cancer treatments in every major city provided by the respective state governments. The total costs of battling the debilitating disease is 20-25% of what is would cost you at a private clinic. But the waiting period for tests and diagnostics, radiotherapy and follow ups are huge. Cancer in most forms is a virulent disease and can you will find metastasis in other organs from the primary source chillingly fast. In this game of speed the wait for a report or a scan and the incompetence of the medical and nursing staff may lose lives.

Let us also keep in mind that these centers are only available in major cities and are in need of major overhauls. Technology has taken huge strides in this direction and the equipment in use at the government hospitals is outdated and over used. The medicines that are meted out are poor quality generics whose efficiency is questionable. steps are on in this direction are on to provide new and patent free drugs to the patients.

The agony of seeing a loved one suffer the travesty of this killer disease is the biggest cost of huge. The family suffers as a whole and the burden is the largest on the primary care giver. There are no support groups or counselors to guide the family through this turbulent time as in western countries. The average middle class family is the greatest sufferer in the course of the treatment. Medical treatments include the cost of diagnosis, medicines, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and adjunct therapy as and when needed for secondary care. The diagnosis alone can take up to Rs 100.000 as multiple scans, blood tests, FNAC, biopsies and CT and PET scans are expensive.

Once the painful truth is known the greed machinery kicks in. The oncologist prescribes surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy in a judicious mix. The case to case prognosis of the disease makes the line of treatment clear. If surgery and 6 cycles of chemotherapy and complementing radiotherapy is advised the cost of treatment may spiral to 2.5-3 lakhs for surgery+ 3.75-4 lakhs for chemotherapy-.4 lakhs for radiotherapy and other medicines, nursing costs may also be humongous. These are just the initial post diagnosis tests!

This may be the first step in a battle where the cancer survivor starts her war. The trick of the game i to go for proper screenings and ensure that we make appropriate lifestyle changes to avoid contracting Cancer in the first place. Awareness is the key! The government is taking smart steps to provide preventive and therapeutic care to the masses. awareness programmes are flashed in the media to encourage the common man to seek treatment in the early stages and improve mortality rates.

12 comments:

cyberzonene28 February 2017 at 12:59
critical of restrictions that stopped people from importing drugs and having them administered through the public system.
Unknown28 February 2017 at 13:38
Looking into these cases of cancer, I think breast cancer is one that can be easily prevented or treated at the earliest stage. More awareness is very much required.
sistan28 February 2017 at 22:32
This is a good informative post about cancer and kind of re-ignited the memories of my late bro in law who suffered from brain cancer which later complicated to blood after hhis first chemotherapy, it was a really hard time. God bless you for this nice informative article, I hope many people read it, at least all those who care about their loved ones.
ajit k hansda28 February 2017 at 23:28
Conquering cancer will be a giant leap for mankind. It is becoming such a dreaded disease and spreading so widely due to chemical contaminations in everything around us.
R K Hansdah28 February 2017 at 23:41
Cancer is such a dreadful scary disease. Even the cure or treatment is worse than the disease. It is not only very very expensive but also affects the patient’s look and body badly.

Dr.Seema Soren28 February 2017 at 23:59
very informative article about cancer
Unknown1 March 2017 at 10:04
Traditions, like Ayurveda and Eastern medicine, recognize that each of us has a predominating constitution or set of inheritances that determine not only our physical structure but our emotional anatomy, preferences, perceptions and the accompanying physical problems our bodies will confront over our lifetimes.
Unknown1 March 2017 at 10:24
In many ways, Medieval medicine—borne on the idea that there are four temperaments based on four humours (phelgmatic, melancholic, choleric and sanguine)—is similar.
sihdi1 March 2017 at 10:43
The Greek physician, Hippocrates, whom some consider the father of medicine, incorporated those four temperaments into his medical theories; they have influenced modern psychology.
Unknown1 March 2017 at 11:35
In my opinion, anyone who wants to stay optimally healthy should avoid these foods. The usual suspects in the realm of disease, the big “no-nos” have been proven to promote everything from diabetes to heart attacks.
Anonymous1 March 2017 at 12:07
The medicines that are meted out are poor quality generics whose efficiency is questionable. steps are on in this direction are on to provide new and patent free drugs to the patients.
Dr.Seema Soren3 March 2017 at 00:40
In modern world full of toxic chemicals all around us, including in our food; cancer in some form or the other is inevitable. The only precaution is to be aware and reduce exposure to harmful chemicals, and pollution all around us.