Springfield, Illinois (Commonwealth Union)_ A famous Indian-American physician has proposed Panchamrit, a five-point plan, to solve the cancer crisis in India. Notable among these are the declaration of cancer as a notifiable disease, the subsidization of cancer screening and creating a command and control center. “We should get accurate cancer incidence and prevalence data, like in the US. Cancer should be considered a notifiable disease. This will help to identify high-density areas and how to allot resources,” Dr Dattatreyudu Nori said.
According to Dr. Nori, who was honored with the Padma Shri award in 2015 for his services in the field of medicine, tremendous progress has been made since the formation of the National Cancer Institute of India in 2018. However, he said this was insufficient. In comparison with the United States, India had a late start in establishing the NCI; hence, the main programs must be expedited. Expressing concern over the prevalence of cancer in India, Dr. Nori stated that he has shared his solution process with Indian decision-makers.
Noting that the central government and the majority of state governments have subsidized cancer care for cancer treatment, he suggested that similar programs should also include cancer screening subsidies. This will encourage individuals to undergo free cancer screenings. Dr. Nori recommended the development of a cancer command and control (CCC) center in India, stating that it will serve as the coordinating body for all cancer-related concerns in India. The cancer command and control center will gather five-year Medicare database data from each state and the central program and produce a cancer geographic distribution.
“Using this data, a CANCER ATLAS should be developed, which should show cancer information for every district and state. This should be updated every five years. This should be a major source of information for all central, state, and local authorities to develop their programs and prioritize their resources,” Dr Nori said. He concluded by stating that non-resident Indians and organizations such as the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) must be involved in the battle against cancer in India.
