Poorest district Nabarangpur gets its first chemotherapy unit

But last week, Jagabandhu looked a little less worried. “Her cancer has taken a toll on me and I am not sure if she will be cured. But I am relieved she can now get free treatment here,” said Jagabandhu.

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On April 26, a chemotherapy centre, a one-room unit near the ICU with two beds, opened at Nabarangpur. It is the first in any of the 30 district headquarters hospitals of Odisha. It is also the first such centre to be operational in the tribal-dominated Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi (KBK) zone, of which Nabarangpur, arguably one of India’s poorest districts and the focus of a one-year assignment by The Indian Express, is a part.

The centre is manned by a doctor and two assistants trained in chemotherapy sessions. Though it is yet to be operational fully due to lack of around 20 cancer drugs, the treatment will be free of cost.

District Collector Rashmita Panda said the centre was a “big blessing” for the people of Nabarangpur for whom travel to Cuttack, the nearest alternative, is extremely difficult. “We don’t expect a qualified expert in oncology to come and work here for the next few years. But what we can do is give them basic cancer care in the form of a doctor, nursing assistants and a hospital bed. Not all patients can travel to Cuttack for chemotherapy,” said Panda.

The Nabarangpur centre is a part of an Odisha government initiative to expand cancer-care infrastructure and facilities to the grassroots. Under the programme, the district headquarters hospitals of Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh and Puri will each have 10-bed cancer units.

The state health department has also roped in Dr Dinesh Y Pendharkar, of Mumbai’s Asian Institute of Oncology, who came to Nabarangpur on April 23 and diagnosed around 85 patients.

“Cancer treatment is always a challenge as it involves surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Radiation is a one-time process. Surgery is a one-time process. But chemotherapy is an ongoing process, and this is where patients give up after a few visits as hospitals are located hundreds of kilometres away from their homes. In Nabarangpur, the chemotherapy drugs are free and this is why the centre is important,” Dr Pendharkar told The Indian Express over phone.

For the Mali couple, travel to Cuttack was an added burden due to the costs involved. “I had to spend at least Rs 10,000 for a one-time visit to Cuttack. I would also not have been able to afford the rising cost of medicines,” said Jagabandhu.

While Mali waited for the result of her ultrasound test, the 46-year-old wife of a Dabugan-based pharmacist was waiting for a cancer drug to be administered intravenously. The pharmacist, who did not wish to be named, said his wife was suffering from stage-3 ovarian cancer.

“I know how important this centre is for me. I have spent around Rs 4 lakh on taking her to the government hospital in Cuttack, and private hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Vishakhapatnam. Doctors at Vishakhapatnam tried surgery, but it was not successful. When Dr Pendharkar diagnosed my wife, he advised us to try and contain the growth of cancer cells through three chemotherapy sessions after which he would take a decision,” he said.

Last Wednesday, the pharmacist had to buy medicines worth Rs 25,000 so that the assistants at the Nabarangpur hospital could administer them to his wife.

Dr Dakua, in-charge at the centre, said he expected more medicines to arrive soon. “Once the centre is fully operational, we expect to have chemotherapy sessions for three-four patients everyday. In Nabarangpur, at least one-fourth of cancer patients are suffering from cervical cancer and some from oral cancer,” he said.

Dr Pendharkar, who is planning to come again to Nabarangpur for another cancer camp by this month-end, said he had accepted the district as a challenge. “In Madhya Pradesh, we showed that cancer treatment can be taken to districts. We can do the same in Nabarangpur,” he said.