Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation closing the Cancer Care Gap

On occasion of World Cancer Day 2023, Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation had an eventful day packed with cancer awareness activities for different sections of the society :

- Bangalore's BMS Degree College for Women and Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital conducted an awareness walk of 2 km distance to emphazise on the preventability of cancer.

- "Children for Cancer," was a flagship event of Sri Shankara National Centre for Cancer Prevention and Research where children of Chintamani taluk participated in various creative competitions to talk about cancer and took part in a cancer awareness walk in Chintamani town.

- "Hallmarks of Cancer," a lecture for doctors by our professor of molecular research

- Lectures on cancer by our doctors for various groups in Bangalore, Chintamani, and Kolkata

- Cancer awareness at Urban Health Centre, Gavipuram Guttahalli by Sri Shankara College of Nursing

- Fun and exciting activities for our paediatric cancer patients by various organizations.

At Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, we believe that closing the care gap is a continuous and relentless effort.

Beyond raising awareness of cancer among the general public on World Cancer Day, Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation has been striving to provide accessible, affordable, high quality and equitable Cancer care since its inception. Extended support is provided to patients through:

- Free dormitory accommodation to the families of patients who are travelling from outside of Bangalore

- 7 Free hygienic, dietetic, customized meals are provided everyday to all general ward patients to ensure their nutritional needs are taken care of as adequate nutritional is one of the pillars for effective treatment.

- Long stay centre for families of paediatric cancer patients

- Temporary employment for patients’ caregiver for families in need of additional financial support

Cancer care nursing requires specialized technical skills and a lot of mental strength to deal with the highly stressful and emotionally taxing situations while caring for often fragile patients. Through Sri Shankara College of Nursing, Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation has been training young nurses to be specialised oncology care nurses since 2018. BSc in nursing with exposure to cancer from the second year of their degree and postgraduate courses in oncology nursing have proven to have a great impact on building the oncology nursing workforce.

Cancer treatment extends beyond the walls of the OT for surgery, wards for chemotherapy or radiation proof rooms for radiotherapy. At SSCF, we recognize that care gaps are often hidden as the emotional turmoil that is faced by the patient and their family and psycho oncology, support groups, post treatment care training for the caregiver and bereavement counselling are some of the ways that this gap is being bridged.

Shankara Cancer Hospital completes 10 years of providing the best cancer treatment!

On 15th August 2012, the first patient of Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre underwent radiotherapy; our hospital has registered and treated more than 70,000 cancer patients in the 10 years since then. Commemorating this feat, 3 days of grand celebrations were held from 13th to 15th August 2022!

The celebrations began on the 13th of August with a symposium on Affordable Cancer Care in India, for which, Justice Sri M N Venkatachaliah, Hon’ble Former Chief Justice of India, graciously agreed to be the Chief Guest. The Hon'ble Chief Justice released our coffee table book "Temple of Healing" which commemorates our journey over the past 10 years and is dedicated to all our donors, patients and well-wishers.

Entrepreneurs, authors and philanthropists, Smt Susmita Bagchi and Sri Subroto Bagchi had graced the event and Sri Subroto Bagchi delivered the Keynote Lecture on "Integrity in Life".

In a true mark of unity in diversity, senior faculty and administrators from various charitable cancer hospitals across India were part of a panel discussion on “Achieving High-Quality Cancer Treatment at Affordable Costs – Challenges to Charitable Cancer Institutions”.

The panellists were: Mr. Sunder Vaswani from Sadhu Vaswani Mission's Medical Complex, Pune, Dr Shishir Gosavi and Smt Amita Shishir Gosavi from Shri Siddhivinayak Ganapati Cancer Hospital, Miraj, Dr T Subramanyeshwar Rao from Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute, Hyderabad, Maj Gen Dr S C Pareek of Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur, Dr S K Sharma from Dr Sheela Sharma Memorial Charitable Trust, Mathur, Dr B R Patil from Padmashree Dr R.B Patil Cancer Hospital in Hubballi, Mr A. Manimuthu from Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Visakhapatnam, Mr Aditya Murti and Dr Piyush Kumar from RR Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Bareilly

Moderated by Sri Shankara Prakash, the panel brought to light the various challenges faced by not-for-profit cancer hospitals across India and the unique ways in which each organization has tackled these challenges. Over the course of 2 hours, the esteemed panellists discussed costing optimization, funding opportunities and quality enhancement. It was heartening that the spirit of service to the people of this great nation with high-quality and affordable cancer care was the common theme that brought together all these organizations.

On 14th August 2022, Sunday, we had the pleasure of honouring our donors whose faith in us, generosity towards our cause and unstinted support is the reason behind our achievements. Over 1000 donors visited the hospital premises to witness the milestone and the impact that they have enabled. Audio visual displays, a tour of the hospital and a token of our gratitude were shared with them. The hospital premises was brimming with plenty of happiness, satisfaction and excitement!

Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, India's 75th Independencec Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and gusto as the day also marked the official 10th year anniversary of our hospital. The day started off with the Flag Hoisting by Padma Shri Dr V R Gowrishankar. This was followed by a first-of-its-kind event where our doctors organized a cultural performance as a dedication to more than 300 of their patients who have successfully fought cancer! The cancer survivors celebrated this milestone with their doctors and hospital team. The doctors of the operation theatre team performed their take on the iconic movie "Sholay" in a short skit called "Chole!", Sitar performance in the fitting raag "Des" by Dr Prithvi S Balepur, mesmerising songs sung by Dr Praveen K S and his wife Smt Vani and joyful flute performance by Dr Manasa was a special treat to our senses. The grand finale, a medley of songs in raag "Bhairavi" performed by 10 of our doctors to mark 10 years of the hospital's service brought an exhilarating end to the grand festivities of this milestone.

The celebratory atmosphere was palpable and reverberating across the hospital over the last 15 days!

We pray to Goddess Sharadambe for her eternal blessings upon our patients, faculty, staff and entire Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation family!

Coverage in the Press:

1. https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/fete-to-mark-cancer-foundation-s-10th-year-1135309.html

2. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/odisha-skill-development-authority-chairman-to-speak-at-shankara-cancer-hospital-10th-year-celebrations/articleshow/93501105.cms

3. https://www.deccanherald.com/city/top-bengaluru-stories/hereditary-cancers-on-the-rise-says-trustee-of-bengaluru-cancer-hospital-1135706.html

4. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/charitable-hospitals-must-find-ways-to-sustain-managements/articleshow/93548770.cms

5. https://epapervijayavani.in/ArticlePage/APpage.php?edn=Bengaluru&articleid=VVAANINEW_BEN_20220813_10_10

6. https://prasthutha.com/shankara-cancer-hospital-research-centre-celebrates-its-100th-anniversary/

7. https://suddilive.com/archives/7038

8. https://kannada.oneindia.com/news/bengaluru/70k-patients-treated-shri-shankara-cancer-hospital-will-be-celebrate-decade-264907.html

9. https://youtu.be/U2s3pmXyR08

10. https://youtu.be/je0QMEdAmYM

11. https://youtu.be/MoYt2Aha6G0

12. https://youtu.be/1fY5JHWDgTg

13. https://youtu.be/XJqkDGeJg7o

14. https://youtu.be/MoYt2Aha6G0

15. https://www.facebook.com/499580463583545/posts/pfbid02jJQDsTcue51yHt88RDn46vK1G9DykrGjCb6zDrypJ7fvD5Sb3nPujh5EvBjRqBNsl/?sfnsn=wiwspmo

Sarcoma Awareness Month - July 2022

This July, let us understand how Sarcoma can affect children.

Yes, you read it right! Children can develop Sarcoma as well and at Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Bangalore, we have been successfully treating children with all types of sarcomas.

Sarcoma is a tumour that involves the bone / muscle / soft tissue component of the body. Children generally tend to develop bone tumours such as Ewing sarcoma or Osteosarcoma and tumours arising from muscle which is called Rhabdomyosarcoma (muscle tumour).

Here are some warning signs that indicate a swelling arising from a bone could mean the child should undergo further investigations for a proper diagnosis:

• A simple injury like a small fall or hitting against a piece of furniture that results in a fracture

• Swelling noticed after trauma

• Progressive increase in size of swelling

• Unsettling pain

• Cold / limp limb in the extremity involved

A bone tumour (Osteosarcoma, Ewing's Sarcoma) is suspected when a child presents with the above complaints and when an underlying infectious process is sufficiently ruled out. When detected early, there is a high chance of cure (including limb salvage) with good quality of life! Delay in detection can result in the spreading of cancer to the lung/bone/bone marrow which reduces the chance of cure by a large percentage!

We have come a long way in providing the best treatment for bone tumours or osteosarcomas from times when amputation was the only hope to cure. With the help of brachytherapy and limb salvage surgeries, many children are able to achieve a complete remission with less/no residual deformity.

At Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, our multidisciplinary team of paediatric medical oncologists, paediatric surgeons, ortho-oncology surgeons, radiation oncologists, physiotherapists and psychologists provide the best treatment to children with bone cancers. The hospital also understands that the cost of treatment for young children can add financial trauma to the family in addition to the emotional stress of seeing the child going through cancer treatment, to support the families Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation provides several aids such as financial subsidies ranging from discounts to completely free treatment, nutritional support, a special long-stay centre and in house school while maintaining the best quality of treatment.

For queries regarding child bone cancer treatment at Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Bangalore, please contact our highly experienced Paediatric Oncologists, Dr. Anand K C, Dr Tanushree Paul and Dr Aarthi M on: +91 6364464330 / 080- 26981065 / 080-26984461