May 2003
From BMJ-British Medical Journal
Cancer patients in India cheated of appropriate care Letter: Medical community may be partly responsible for cancer misery BMJ Volume 326, p 1146 A letter in this week's BMJ charges the medical community in India with a "commercialisation of suffering and prolongation of lucrative illness."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. | |