NEW ADVANCES, SCHEMES
Gangauli may be an extreme case, but the situation in other parts of the country is not much better.
Doctors said the rising cancer rates nationwide are due to rapid industrialisation, increasing longevity, changing lifestyles and possible environmental factors.
Still, new advances in the field of medical sciences and pharmacology are offering hope.
“I can name any number of drugs that, five years ago, we would not have imagined that we would be able to give to our patients on a routine basis,” said Dr Amita Mahajan, senior consultant at Apollo Hospitals.
“But with … public-private partnership and with a lot of schemes, we’re now able to give these drugs to the people.”
One of these schemes includes the government removing tariffs on three crucial imported cancer medicines to make care more affordable.
Several funds – including a federal health insurance scheme, a financial assistance program tailored to the poorest and a cancer fund – have also been set up.
But for Gangnauli’s residents, access to care remains their primary challenge and something they hope local authorities will address soon.
One resident, Akshay Rathee, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 16. It upended his education and destroyed his plans of becoming a professional wrestler.
He is now determined to change his circumstances, and has made studying to secure a government job his main aim in life.
“I want to leave (Gangnauli) and I want to take my family with me,” he added.
“If we stay here, we’re all just going to fall sick. There’s nothing more to life here.”
