Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Sep 19: Cancer patients from Arunachal Pradesh undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Mumbai are going through a hard time with accommodation being the main problem.
The lodges near the cancer hospital provide accommodation for majority of the cancer patients.
There has been a substantial increase in the number of cancer patients as compared to the previous years.
“As per survey conducted by the Arunachal Students’ Union Mumbai (ASUM), the number of cancer patients from the state currently undergoing treatment in Mumbai is around 132. Of them, eight are currently living in Arunachal Bhavan,” ASUM General Secretary Ritum Sora told this daily over telephone this afternoon from Mumbai.
Last month, the ASUM conducted a survey to know the exact number of cancer patients from Arunachal Pradesh in Mumbai as well as the problems faced by them while undergoing treatment in Mumbai.
It was revealed during interaction with the patients that accommodation cost overruns the actual treatment cost, said Sora.
Apart from accommodation facility, the patients face lot of hardships in registration process, which causes inordinate delay in getting early treatment.
This, the ASUM General Secretary said, not only causes lot of hardships and mental agony to the patients and their relatives but also incur heavy expenses to them as living cost in Mumbai is very expensive.
There are separate counters for registration of patients from other NE states, except Arunachal Pradesh, operated by their respective Public Relation Officers, the ASUM General Secretary said, and appealed to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to follow suit.
The students union appealed to the state government to fulfil its commitment at the earliest to provide accommodation for cancer patients near the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, Mumbai.
Observing the plight of the cancer patients, the ASUM appealed to various NGOs, youths and Health Department to conduct mass cancer awareness campaign in the state to control cancer.
