Childhood cancer care forces more than 32,000 low-income families to travel to cities each year

Cancer treatment for children in India is concentrated in large cities, forcing thousands of poorer families to live far from home, often in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. Nearly 50,000 children in India are affected by cancer each year, while thousands of families from villages and small towns are forced to travel to metro cities for specialised treatment, according to nonprofit care provider for cancer patients St Judes India.

September is childhood cancer awareness month. The organisation in a press note said more than 32,000 families with limited means travel every year for their child’s cancer care, but many struggle to find safe and affordable accommodation near hospitals.

Families who can afford it often stay in low-cost lodges until their money runs out, while others are forced to live at railway stations or on pavements outside hospitals, the note said. These harsh and unhygienic conditions leave children, already immunocompromised by cancer treatment, vulnerable to secondary infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

St. Judes India provides what it calls a “home away from home” for children undergoing cancer treatment and their families. Its model includes free, hygienic accommodation close to major cancer hospitals, transport support, nutrition guidance, counselling, educational programmes and strict infection control practices.

St. Judes said removing these non-medical barriers helps families focus on treatment and recovery. According to estimates shared by Tata Memorial Hospital, the centres have helped bring treatment abandonment down from more than 30 per cent earlier to less than 5 per cenmt.

The organisation currently supports more than 876 children across centres in Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Muzaffarpur, Bengaluru, Varanasi, Vellore and Visakhapatnam.

St. Judes has also expanded support for childhood cancer survivors through St. Judes for Life, launched in November 2020 in memory of Rani Vicaji. More than 2,000 survivors are now connected with the programme, the organisation said.