By Samara Mahindra

Cancer, more commonly known as “rich man’s disease” owing to the high costs involved in its treatment, and despite the industry bringing forth significant advances in cancer care, the disease remains major distress for patients and for our healthcare systems. The process involving the transition from active treatment to recovery is of utmost importance to the long-lasting health of a cancer survivor. Cancer and its post-treatment recovery play a significant impact on one’s physical, psychological, and emotional health-being. Thus, the survivorship of the person being diagnosed with cancer begins at the time of diagnosis, includes the initial time-frame treatment with intent to cure, cancer-free survival, and end of life care. And while, Cancer doesn’t differentiate between age, sex and caste, ethically it’s everyone’s right to get effective medical treatment and quality care. 

By 2025, there will be a 12 per cent increase in cancer cases in India, a report by the National Cancer Registry Programme has said. The report further revealed that the lung, mouth, stomach, oesophagus, breast and cervix, were the most common cancers. In the past few years, personalised medical care has taken a big step in the healthcare ecosystem providing affordable cancer treatment and bridging the care gap. Personalised oncology – giving the right treatment at the right dose to the right person at the right time – is providing renewed hope for patients.

And aiming to develop a holistic solution to cancer care, CARER founded in 2018, started offering personalised treatment and integrative cancer care – using nutrition therapy along with physical and psychological intervention. CARER team now includes highly skilled cancer nutritionists, yoga practitioners, physiotherapists, and mental health counsellors, which are focused on effectively managing the side effects of treatment and improving quality of life. With their combined expertise and experience, the platform evolved into a structured, scientifically validated program widely endorsed by oncologists and medical institutions.

Over the past couple of years, we have transformed ourselves into a personalised digital Onco-health platform that provides cancer patients with customised nutrition and integrative programs developed by trained oncology experts, which adhere to the best clinical practices in the field of Oncology. These programs help manage the side effects of cancer, improve response to treatment, survival, quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. The company’s technology-driven nutrition algorithm provides patients with a highly customised plan based on scientific evidence, global and national nutritional standards. Additionally, owing to the extensive amounts of data we have accumulated over the years, the company has been able to efficiently frame nutritional profiles and customised diet recommendations that are apt for various cancer types, stages, and lifestyles of the patient. 

Our digitised nutrition led integrative solution is not here to replace the standard of care but enhance the practice of oncologists, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies to offer quality care to patients, which is their basic human right and reaches to all income brackets. 

Thus, to make an effective health care ecosystem for cancer patients, the industry needs to embrace innovative diagnostic, therapeutic and supportive care tools. Equity must be a driving principle of our cancer health systems across India and globally. After all the emotionally and physically draining treatments and tests, one should finally look forward to a life that you plan to live to its fullest. And the thought that a patient has completed a cancer treatment successfully, brings joy in its own sense.

(The author is Founder & CEO, CARER. The article is for informational purposes only. Please consult medical experts and health professionals before starting any therapy, medication and/or remedy. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)