Donation funds launched by a cancer hospital and research centre here have helped out poor patients during the pandemic, with their treatment facilitated by philanthropists, charitable trusts and individual donors. Patients suffering from different types of cancer have benefited from medical therapies, investigations and nursing facilities.
The Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital has been taking up the series of projects since 2015 for making an effective intervention for those unable to bear the expenses. Most of the patients, selected as beneficiaries on the basis of their socio-economic conditions, are leading a normal life in the pandemic.
The funds were dedicated for treatment of thyroid cancer, tumours, breast cancer, blood cancer and other oncological ailments. Hospital’s Director (Clinical Services) S.G. Kabra said here on Monday a unique “Donate a Life” fund had benefited over 170 children below 14 years of age suffering from any of the three types of curable blood cancers — acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, acute promylocytic leukaemia and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Appreciation for flagship programme for children
While the flagship welfare programme for children has won appreciation from civil society, other funds have helped in full treatment of adults and prevented recurrence of cancer by bearing the entire cost of treatment, medicines, investigations, nursing and doctors’ consultation.
As many as 29 patients were receiving regular hormone therapy and medical monitoring under the breast cancer recurrence prevention project. Women have been treated for uterine, ovary or colon cancer within five years of their previous disease under the Compassionate Cancer Care Project.
Dr. Kabra said 157 patients were receiving treatment under the Freedom from Cancer Project, under which they were given free Imatinib therapy as recommended by the consultants. Similarly, the curative adjuvant radioactive iodine therapy was being administered to 19 women below 45 years of age under the Cure Thyriod Cancer Project to treat the residual thyroid cancer with the follow-up for five years.
Thirteen children have been registered and are getting free consultation and medicines under the Wilm’s Tumour Project for treatment of kidney cancer. Dr. Kabra said the corpus for all of these projects was being maintained with the contributions from philanthropists, trusts, donors and some private companies.
