KVT, TMC come together to give ‘End-of-life care’ to dying cancer patients
80-bedded Hospice for cancer patients in terminal stage to come up in Mirzapur district
Binay Singh
Varanasi: Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital run by Tata Memorial Trust in Varanasi, which became operational in May 2018, is going to establish a hospice in collaboration with the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust to give ‘End-of-life care’ to those cancer patients in terminal stage who are near the end of life and have stopped treatment to cure or control their disease. End-of-life care includes physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support for patients and their families. The goal of end-of-life care is to control pain and other symptoms so the patient can be as comfortable as possible.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently inked by by the divisional commissioner of Varanasi Deepak Agrawal and Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) director Dr Rajendra A Badwe in this regard. The KVT has offered 40 bigha (10 hectare) land in Mirzapur district to TMC for this purpose, besides establishing a research centre for incorporating Ayurveda in the treatment of cancer.
The proposed hospices will come up at Kakrahi village of Jamalpur area in Mirzapur district, about 30 km away from Varanasi city. According to Badwe, the TMC has a hospice in Mumbai, where relatives of terminal stage patients are given a two-week training for palliative care at home. The proposed hospice will have around 80 beds, besides training facility to relatives of patients.
The HBCH also got a `home away from home’ for children undergoing cancer treatment courtesy with the help of a voluntary organisation St Jude Indian Childcare Centre. According to JICC founder Nohal Kaviratne, the organisation has opened its 38th home in Varanasi, which will currently support 16 families staying at the hospital for the treatment of their children. The strength may be increased if required. Over 450 such families are getting support at other 37 centres operating with TMC run hospitals.
