Cricketer Yuvraj Singh's cancer diagnosis is distressing, and he will hopefully bounce back with the help of the best treatment available. But this is also a moment for India to consider how its public health policy is dealing with the long and dark shadow of cancer. An estimated 800,000 new cancer cases occur in India annually, imposing huge costs on state and society in providing tertiary care for advanced chronic cases. Mortality due to the scourge is projected to go up from 730,000 in 2004 to 1.5 million in 2030. The evidence on the causes clearly points to the need to strengthen key policy goals — preventing new cases, offering low or no-cost treatment, improving quality of life or palliation. Arguably, the single biggest intervention that public policy can make is to tighten curbs on the use of tobacco, given that major cancers in Indian men are linked to it. It is worth pointing out that India has the world's highest number of oral cancers, linked to the tobacco chewing habit. In general, screening and early diagnosis for cancer will benefit both men and women. The unfortunate reality is that India cannot quickly scale up screening in a cost-effective manner, and must therefore focus on early detection to enhance survival rates.
Seeking out the best treatment — especially in expensive domestic corporate hospitals or facilities abroad — is an option open to a minority of Indians. The imperative is to improve access to diagnosis within the country, and subsidise costly medication. The High Level Expert Group of the Planning Commission on Universal Health Coverage has suggested a sound approach to improve access to cancer treatment. The Centre should unhesitatingly accept its recommendations and devote the funds necessary to equip health sub-centres in all areas to screen and refer patients to Primary Health Centres for detailed examination, laboratory sampling, breast and cervical examination. District hospitals and higher institutions in the public system should be equipped to offer surgery, therapy and palliative care. Equally vital is the suggestion that essential medicines be made available free to all patients, and paid for through enhanced public procurement. It is relevant to point out that effective prevention programmes, detection and advances in treatment have reduced cancer death rates significantly in America. The US policy has translated into prevention of more than a million deaths in two decades, as the American Cancer Society points out in its annual report for 2012. India needs more ultrasound machines, endoscopes and training for doctors in district hospitals, to drive down death rates. If Yuvraj Singh were to be the ambassador for such an agenda, speedy progress is possible.
Keywords: Yuvraj Singh, lung cancer, cancer research, cancer treatment, cancer awareness, India and cancer
First of all Prayer for Yuvraj Singh and to all those who have been diagnosed with this dreadful ailment called Cancer. As most of you have pointed out about the healthcare system in India,my point of view is, Resources are plentiful but delivering those resources to common man require people with high integrity, honesty and morality. Most of the treatments in India have become costly to our people but on the same time medical tourism has increased. We are 1.2 billion people nation but our polity and bureaucracy is working at a pace of tortoise in the time of Sukhoi & F16. We need Visionary and more efficient people who must not be self centred. We must learn from developed nations. How they have reached their current status in any speicified area. Then we should chart are our own course to make our country the most healthiest and happiest across the globe.
God Bless You All
Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer are very important steps to affordable efficient and hopeful treatment.We must not confine to cancer only.Broader outlook to impart health educationfor prevention of any disease must not be weighed with less importance.One fifth of word's diarrhoea related deaths occur in just three countries Congo,Ethiopia and Nigeria.Polluted water kills more people than war and other violences.At the same time we must remember thatU.S spends huge amount to control HIV infection in African countries in contrast to providing safe drinkig water.
It is not imperative to take novel actions, but it is imperative to implement hitherto already taken actions to cure this endemic scourge.
yuvi is the great fighter in the green gassed cricket field ,i wish he
will fight this cancer also and hope that he will come to field
quikly,and i request yuvi also to start a charity for cancer patients
like mcgrath did in australia .
yes it is indeed heartening and the right step as suggested in the
article is to ban the deadly smoking which the govt can hardly do
because of the strong political support. at the same time one has to
understand that this is difficult not only in india but throughout
the world, probably many country cannot do the same for the same.
but one cannot say to stop privatisation which cannot be done.
remember the ad on the last page of print edition of the hindu
sunday main edition showing a private hospital having a state of art
therapy machine which i think cannot and should not be in a govt
setup. the article might make one think that the numbers are in
millions and so the no is huge but it does not say the average age
of the persons dying and it might be on the higher side for sure and
any interventions for those small chunk of people (sorry might be
offending some persons)in the larger interest of the state with more
important health priorities needs to be addressed first or
simultaneously.
*Public Health policy*: The first necessary step is for the government to stop promoting irrational therapies under the banner of “'Indian medical systems and Homoeopathy”, etc., spending a king’s ransom on them. I was aghast to learn that Yuvraj was taking ayurvedic medicines for his condition. Sreesanth was also trying ayurveda for treating his injury, and, some years ago, Tendulkar was contemplating "acupuncture" for his elbow problem. Further, when the insufferable Greg Chappell was India team's coach, he brought in as a member of his team one Charles Krebs, a practitioner of a particular form of quack medicine. BCCI never bothered to verify the antecedents of Greg Chappell or his team members. I would urge BCCI to be more careful in future, and also warn the players that their contracts would be terminated if they go in for ineffective “alternative” medicine. In any case, no serious disease like cancer can be be cured with kashaayam, arishtam, aasavam, tylam, lehyam, etc.
The alarming spurt in the number of the reported cases of cancer, diabetes and other diseases across the country in the recent decades has been causing serious concern. Though it is difficult to pinpoint any single factor as responsible for this, widespread informed scientific opinions have been pointing at the relatively higher levels of residual pesticides in the drinking water, cereals, dairy products, vegetables and fruits as the most probable suspected and contributing factor for the above. In this connection, the results declared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is very disturbing. The Central Insecticides Board has still not come out with a clear policy on what are the tolerant limits of the maximum residue limits on numerous pesticides as against those of the WHO.
Based on the doctrine of ‘caveat emptor’(user beware), it is for the Indian consumers to protect themselves from such hazardous intake materials he is forced to consume. Widespread usage and implementation organic farming appears to be only major solution to resolve this crisis. While the technologies for the manufacture of these pesticides which are basically harmful organo phosphorus, organo sulphur and organo chlorine chemicals, were developed in the western countries, their use and applications are being better regulated and more tightly controlled there on account of a sound and honest pesticide management system of administration.
In a soft and permissive society like ours, with the collusion of greedy and unscrupulous elements occupying the different levels of technical compliance, trading interests and regulatory bodies, flagrant violations have become the order of the day. The resultant consequences are there for all to see. The trend is further likely to get worsened.No other industry holds the cross of the sin against the society for such flagrant violations and causing harm to their fellow men as much as the chemical industry. As a chemical technology professional with around thirty year’s experience, it is my fervent appeal to all my fellow professionals, to become more socially conscious on their obligations towards the larger society (keeping their own future kith and kin in mind) as their higher priority and recommend and implement only such professional actions which are acceptable to their conscience.
There is a saying- Prevention is better than cure.
Giving subsidized medicare to to the unprivileged is important as well as necessary, as many cannot afford high end healthcare. But it does not mean that it should be unconditional. Where a disease can be prevented, it should be and subsidy/free medicare should be barred. Tobacco Smoking/chewing causes lung/oral cancer, alcohol consumption causes liver/pancreatic cancer etc. In such cases there should be a clear line drawn for subsidy, for the taxpayers money should not be spent on someone who ruins their life by their own will. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch!
the problem of not getting a good treatment in india by even a great personality like yuvraj singh has revealed the health care available in india.if a player like yuvraj singh is not getting proper treatment of cancer and facing the same for about months and ultimately going to London for the treatment,what if a normal person faces the same..he cant even get that quality of treatment because it costs too much.so the govt. must take some step towards the treatment of cancer..
I wonder why is media exaggerating this fact. Concentrating and implementing health care reforms in India is the task ahead. Health care today in India has almost been privatized.Cancer's treatment is a dream.Do we have health care centers in India which can bring out solution? Even if hospitals exists, do all of us get treatment? Stop Privatization of health care!!
Yuvi is great fighter, he will join the sport soon. But govt must think
of citizens who can't go abroad for cancer treatment. Pray for Yuvi.
Let us wish him a speedy recovery.
Your editorial with its evocative title unveils some significant imperatives in the detection and cure of the malady. We received the sombre news of Yuvi's cancer diagnosis with utter distress and dismay. However, the latest bulletin from the doctors that the cricket icon does not suffer from lung cancer is a happy tiding. Common palce and comforting palliatives like cancer is not a cure but a disorder are in currency. However, many socio-economic factors weigh against the possibility of early detection and cure of the disease in our country. The majority of the people of the country struggle to make the ends meet. In this strife, they forget about the malaise or its innocuous symptoms unless the latter disrupt their physical efforts to eke out a life. In this scenario, subsidisation of tertiary treatment, as you say, is an imperative need. Nevertheless, we hope Yuvi will back soon in the crease and hopefully play the ambassadorial role in battling the king of maldies.
It's not about making new policies to fight cancer, but what we need is the
implementation of the existing one. And I do not mean implementation of only medicine related policies but also implementing the stringent rules against chewing tobacco or smoking in public places. This will certainly reduce the use of tobacco and subsequently the illness. We must also think of trying eminent sportsperson and filmstars to volunteer for the the cause because they are the most influential personalities than any other socialist or politician.
It was the great international cricketer of India whose cancer had not
been diagnosed in India. Indian doctors did not diagnosed anything
serious in the tumor that Yuvraj was having since long. After noticing
continued pain Yuvraj opted to go for a diagnosis to London where
doctors finally caught the malignant and cancerous tumor. What would
have happened if the same conditions were faced by a common man ? His
disease might not have been diagnosed on time and and he would have
reached to the last stage of cancer unknowingly. He might have
succumbed to his disease. India is a land of skilled manforce . One of
the best engineers and doctors are here but not in reach of the common
man. AIIMS is on top of medical system in India. But getting treatment
at this hospital is cumbersome activity. If a patient is to go for
blood test he has to wait for one or two months. The patient opts to
some private hospital for quick treatment of his ailment. Our system
needs drastic reforms.
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