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Approximately 40 per cent of malignancies reported are Leukaemias and Lymphomas, which require aggressive chemotherapy and supportive care for few years. The Regional Cancer Centre is providing free drugs to poor patients to a certain extent, but because of the financial constraints, the centre is not able to provide all necessary drugs. Cost of treatment for Leukaemia is between Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 2,50,000. As the child's illness continues, the cost of treatment significantly increases to the overall stress of the family. The cost of treatment can be direct medical charges and non-medical expenses (medicines, food, transport, lodging etc). Many parents have to refuse or discontinue treatment because they didn't have the money to pay for the drugs. Very few families are able to undergo the rigors of years of treatment without some degree of economic stress. Preliminary survey conducted in our department revealed that more than 80 per cent of the families were having financial constraints in addition to their physical as well as mental strain.
Need of the Hour:
Awareness among the patients/their parents is the immediate need of the hour. The treatment shall be carried out in an encouraging and child-friendly way. Psychological and financial support is also essential for the progress of the treatment.
Even if the doctors explain in detail regarding the illness of their wards, the parents may hold distorted ideas and erroneous information about the disease. Support groups can be of invaluable help at this time. The parents and the childhood cancer survivors are the only one who can truly understand what the recently diagnosed patients are going through. Separation from their parent is the cause for concern in younger children and, acute and writhing pain is all the more frightening in older people. It is here that the support group has to play an important role extending emotional, psychological and financial support to overcome the mental stress.
Taking into consideration of the above facts, the parents of the childhood cancer survivors and the grown-up survivors framed 'Pratyasha', charitable society -- to give support and solace to these patients and families. The aim would be to minimize the development of psychological dysfunction and to maximize the coping ability of the child and family during the treatment regime and thereafter at home or school. Pratyasha acts as a soothing balm to aching minds.
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