Brand Connect Initiative

Mumbai, November 24, 2021 – A recent panel discussion with ET Health World and
oncologists, nonprofits working with children with cancer, researchers and corporates funding
childhood cancer care in India helped highlight some critical challenges facing children
fighting cancer in India and the possible solutions.

Dr. Anil D’Cruz, currently the Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals and a former
director at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India, shared his perspectives based on
his experience with adult cancers, saying, “Malnourished children will not be able to
complete the entire treatment. Most cancer treatments consist of surgery, radiation and
chemotherapy, and all of them take a toll on one’s body, so it is logical to be well-nourished
as it will help tolerate treatments better.” Dr. D’Cruz currently serves as the President of
the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) 2020-22.

Most childhood cancers can be cured but cure rates in low to middle-income countries like
India can be as low as 15-45%. In response to that statement and sharing his perspective on
the inherent burden of malnutrition for children with cancer, Dr. Girish Chinnaswamy,
Professor and Head of the Division of Paediatric Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital,
Mumbai, helped with some relevant data, “To give you the numbers, about 48% of children
who come to these large centers (like Tata Memorial Hospital) for treatment, have what is
known as severe acute malnourishment. Cancer is a highly energy-consuming disease, and
one tends to lose weight even more rapidly. There is a downward trajectory very rapidly.”

Purnota Dutta Bahl, Founder & CEO of Cuddles Foundation shared some demonstrable
actions undertaken by her foundation to address malnutrition in children with cancer, “One of
the key reasons for the abandonment of treatment is also poverty, as they say, Cancer is a
disease for the rich. We identify people at risk of abandoning treatment and provide the
families with (monthly) ration bundles that last the whole family and the child for a month. It
takes care of 100% of the calorie requirement of the child.”

“We also do many parent support group meetings because we want to train parents to take
care of their child nutritionally in the limited means that they have, once they complete the
treatment and leave the hospital.”

While Dr. Girish and Dr. Anil addressed the nature of the disease and its impact on treatment
and cure rates, Dr. Ravi Mehrotra, Advisor Datar Cancer Genomics & Former CEO
of ICMR & National Institute of Cancer Prevention & Research, brought to light a
significant industry problem – lack of awareness amongst our very own medical
professionals. “The delay in referring patients to a tertiary center post-diagnosis is an existing
problem. A lag of 2 to 3 months can make it difficult for the patient to get the appropriate
treatment because the disease would have progressed, especially in the case of blood
cancers.”

Dr. Anil D’cruz added, “Cancer is not a part of the curriculum in most of our medical schools,
so that goes back to our training. What the mind does not know, the eye does not see. Which
goes hand-in-hand with early diagnosis.”

Charu Thapar, who is Executive Director and Head of Strategy JLL and also
champions the CSR initiatives at her company, commented on the role of corporates and
approach to social causes. She said that “Schedule 7 has made it easy for us to align our
CSR goals. JLL chose to focus on preventive healthcare and we’ve collaborated with
Cuddles Foundation and adopted the programs.” She also said that in her experience
measuring the impact of the programs has been a significant motivating factor for employees
and corporate contribution and participation.

It was not all challenges as the entire panel echoed the commendable efforts of many
organizations and entities in India and globally. Dr. Mehrotra reiterated the need for regular
research and customized and focused solutions. He gave the example of the Kevat program
which places patient navigators in hospitals who help patients coming from far-off villages
navigate the complex healthcare system in hospitals. Research and innovation can address
the medical needs of a large cross-section of India’s population. For example, we need more
medication that can be taken orally instead of intravenously, highlighted Dr. Ravi.

Dr. Anil also highlighted the importance of specialty hospitals, “If we look at Tata Memorial
and St.Jude Children’s Hospital in the US – they specialize. Pediatric Cancer should therefore
not be treated at every hospital in the city. For a program to be successful, patients should be
referred to a center that not only has the doctors, the infrastructure, but most importantly the
support system — that is one thing that’s lacking currently in most hospitals.”

The hour-long discussion finally concluded that a robust and holistic ecosystem that
addresses the medical, nutritional, and emotional needs of children fighting cancer, cannot
be possible without collaboration. It needs everyone to work together. It’s time to create a
unified voice and force for pediatric cancer in India so that every child gets a chance at
curing.