Mumbai News: Tata Memorial Centre Launches Project To Make Cancer Care More Affordable

Mumbai: Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), in collaboration with the Public Health Department of Maharashtra, has launched a project titled "Access to Affordable Cancer Care for One and All" that aims to make cancer care more accessible and affordable at the district level and reduce the incidence of preventable forms of cancer.

June 2016 project

The project was initially launched on a pilot basis in six districts of Maharashtra in June 2016 and has now been expanded to the remaining districts of the state after a successful rollout in Phase-I. The official announcement of the expansion of the project in Phase-II was made on July 31 at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in Parel on the occasion of World Head and Neck Cancer Day week.

During the inaugural function of the workshop, an interim project report was released, and Maharashtra Oral Cancer Warriors (MCWs) was launched to strengthen oral cancer services at the district level. MCWs are a voluntary group of oncologists who are alumni of TMH practising in their respective districts and have taken the initiative to provide free services at District Civil Hospitals in Medical and Surgical oncology. Director of TMC, Dr Rajendra Badwe, praised the efforts taken by the Public Health Department of Maharashtra for cancer prevention and the capacity building of health services staff on early detection, screening, and prevention of common cancers. He emphasized the establishment of cancer day care centers at district civil hospitals of Maharashtra to make cancer care accessible and affordable at the district level.