A 'home away from home' for cancer patients in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Kolkata resident 39-year-old Sumant Ray (name changed) has been living in Ghansoli for nine months ever since he started undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer. "The days I have chemotherapy are hectic as one has to deal with hospitalization and the side-effects,'' said Ray.


It is the non-chemotherapy days that bother him a lot. "Cooped up in a flat in an alien city, my wife and me start thinking negatively,'' he added. That is when his treating doctor, Boman Dhabhar, suggested that spend his days at the

OnCare centre

started by his NGO N K Dhabhar Cancer Foundation, in the Masina Hospital compound,

Byculla

.

This was a turning point for Ray whose treatment too is funded by the NGO. "We feel positive after meeting other patients and the day-long activities here,'' he added. His wife Nita said she picked up a lot about cancer diets from the nutrition lectures held there.

OnCare has been designed as a "home away from home'' for cancer patients. "The patients don't have to pay anything and we provide emotional, nutritional and psychological support,'' said Dr Khurshid Mistry, who manages the wellness and palliative care centre. Around 200 patients have benefited from the centre in the year it has been operational.

Dr Dhabhar said patients who attend OnCare regularly cope with the disease much better. "Their compliance to the treatment has improved and they are in a much better physical and emotional state,'' he said. "On the occasion of

World Cancer Day

, it is important to note that cancer is no longer a disease to be scared of. The key is to face it positively.''