Cancer Treatment: India vs. Abroad

There goes on a constant debate on technological advancement of India relative to other countries. So far, there hasn’t been a solid conclusion as such that justifies whether India is technologically backward in any way. Still, there are some areas in which people believe abroad to be a better option than India like Cancer Treatment, a very common scenario now these days. 

There are cancer hospitals in India and there are cancer hospitals abroad. In the past, there have been many prominent celebrities who suffered from Cancer and preferred abroad from India. This has led to a notion among Indians that India in some way is backward in Cancer Treatment. However, does it really matter whether you are getting treatment from India or from abroad or only the quality of treatment? Let’s find out. 

1. Type Of Treatment To Fight Cancer

The type of treatment depends on the type of cancer. Based on it, various treatments are available like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant and others. Also, a number of clinical trials are available where research and study is carried out on the cancer patients to understand more about them and how they live. As far as the treatment is concerned, India offers the same treatment as offered in any part of the world without a tinge of lack, as confirmed by the Director of Tata Memorial Research Centre, Dr. Bidwe. So, at this point, India and abroad scores the same.

Moving on…

2. Cost of Treatment

When it comes to the cost of cancer treatment in India, it is absolutely affordable for a middle-class Indian household as compared to abroad. In fact, in many government hospitals, the treatment is completely free. For instance, the cost of chemotherapy plus medicines for breast cancer in India is around Rs. 50,000. While in US, the same treatment costs approximately 500 times more than that in India.

Besides, the drugs employed in cancer treatment are far cheaper in India than that in abroad. For example, a simple drug used for leukaemia that costs Rs. 2500 in India costs Rs. 60,000 in London. 

3. Doctor to Patient Ratio 

There are over 1 million cancer patients reported in India till date. And the hospitals and doctors that treat the disease are few. Furthermore, the study of oncology and MBBS takes years to complete resulting in a few surgeons landing on the line. And probably because, most of the oncologists and highly qualified surgeons tend to shift abroad in order to gain better financial opportunities. In turn, this creates a large number of doctors settled in abroad thus facilitating treatment options there. Here, India lags behind due to scarcity of availability of cancer treatment.

4. Diagnosis of The Disease 

The state of diagnosis in India has reported that mostly, the cancer cases in India are diagnosed long after it penetrates the cells of body. They are diagnosed at advanced stage of tumours unlike most cases abroad. This can be due to any of the following factors:

a. Since complete treatment of cancer is available at but a limited places in India, so not everyone can afford the travel and stay to reach out to the concerned hospital.

b. In cases like breast cancer and cervical cancer, many women don’t even report to the doctor due to the shame or fear of social stigma. Secondly, the symptoms of disease can be vaginal bleeding, armpit swelling and icicles around pubic area. So, under the veil of Indian conservativeness, women fail to get their disease diagnosed at early stages

c. Lack of cancer awareness and education. 

d. Early cancer detection procedures like pap smear and mammogram are still not available in many villages.

Conclusion

As we have seen, the question here is not really whether the cancer treatment is better in India or abroad. The real point is do we have essential means to ensure a complete, proper and comfortable treatment of cancer patients. And the answer is yes. Same goes with other countries as well. 

We have technology, we have affordable costs and most importantly, here we are under the support of our friends and families that can’t be achieved in foreign environments. 

The crux is neither of the countries is more advanced than the other. The only thing is awareness. The more awareness we spread, the more doctors we get, the more early detections will be made.

And trust me, cancer is curable. Asthma is not, diabetes is not but cancer is. 

** At Credihealth you can find the information about the best and top Cancer Hospitals in India.