Rising cost of cancer treatment driving families to financial ruin, forcing dropouts; experts at Kolkata meet call for affordable cancer care, early detection & insurance
KOLKATA: The rising cost of cancer treatment is increasingly driving families towards financial ruin, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like India, cancer experts and researchers have warned.
Out-of-pocket expenditure has reached an average of Rs 3.3 lakh per household annually, resulting in numerous treatment dropouts.
A breakdown of expenses reveals non-medical spend - accommodation (18.6%), food (17.9%) and travel (7.2%) - are adding to medical costs like systemic therapy (19.7%), radiotherapy (13%), surgery (9.7%) and investigation (8.2%).
These issues were highlighted at a recent meet in Kolkata attended by doctors, researchers and policymakers where the participants focused primarily on the high cost of cancer care and the necessity to drastically reduce it to save families from financial calamity.
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India records approximately 18.5 lakh new cancer cases annually and about 9.1 lakh deaths each year. In Bengal, about one lakh new cancer patients are diagnosed every year, with approximately 49,000 deaths. The most prevalent cancers in the state include breast, lung, oral, cervix and prostate.
"Catastrophic health exp-enditure is a reality for a majority of cancer patients in India," said surgical oncologist Soumen Das, adding that a broken financing system and skyrocketing drug prices were the key contributors.
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Experts said new drugs and technologies, along with profit margins of health facilities, were the main contributors to the soaring cancer treatment bill. Oncosurgeon Arnab Gupta, medical director at Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre & Research Institute, Thakurpukur, said bulk purchase through the National Cancer Grid could bring down the cost of drugs.
Docs stress early cancer detection, insurance cover
Doctors at the conference also stressed the importance of public awareness and community-based screening for early detection and the need for universal insurance schemes to reduce expenditure.
Swapan Saren, Bengal health services director said, "We need to be empathetic towards patients. Apart from the physical sufferings, cancer causes mental trauma and financial drainage. Therefore, the patient and family members deserve greater support and transparency."
The multi-pronged approaches discussed at the meet included patient-centric financing schemes and systemic changes aimed at equitable access, including socialised and contributory insurance models.
Experts noted that countries with such models had demonstrated reduced out-of-pocket expenditure and increased treatment completion rates. One of the solutions proposed was short-term employment of family members as caregivers for patients undergoing long-term treatments.
This would help families sustain themselves economically during prolonged hospital stays, experts said.
Organised by SH Binayak Hospital in association with Oncocare, Cancer Care & Cure Society of West Bengal, Asian Medical Foundation and Institute of Breast Diseases Kolkata, the meet was attended by cancer specialists including PN Mahapatra, Sayantan Mukhopadhyay, Tanmoy K Mandal, Soumen Das, Debjoy Sau, Sukhamoy Barik and Anwar Ali Mallick. Sneha Sparsha, a homecare service for cancer patients by the hospital, was launched during the conclave.
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