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Cancer patients in India cheated of appropriate care

Letter: Medical community may be partly responsible for cancer misery BMJ Volume 326, p 1146

Dr Chatuverdi, Assistant Surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai states that, in a country with 3 million cancer sufferers – of whom 80 per cent are incurable – there are only 20 dedicated cancer centres and 13 hospices. Those with advanced conditions are consequently made to feel they should forego non-paying resources, he claims. As a result, they often undergo unwarranted and ineffectual treatments at the hands of private practitioners.

The letter goes on to outline how aspects of appropriate care in developed countries – palliative care, counselling, rehabilitation, are rarely offered.

While a culture of promoting lucrative but inappropriate treatments prevails, he argues, medical practitioners of the future will follow suit.

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