As you are possibly aware, 2.5 million Indians are living with cancer while you are read this. More than 7 lakh new cases register every year, out of which more than 5.5 lakh die of this disease. Recording data is a fairly recent phenomenon in our country, so not only are we recording the tip of the iceberg also GLOBOCAN predicts record numbers by 2020, a true ‘Cancer Epidemic (NICPR) in the making. Individual financial cancer burden in India estimated at INR 36,812 at a tertiary public hospital (AIIMS) was approximately 1/10th of that at a tertiary private hospital in 2012.

This figure has multiplied 100 fold by now. While a plethora of challenges like Prevention and Early Detection programmes, Inadequate and eccentrically distributed technical and human resource infrastructure stand in the way of our evolution, Inadequate financial resource is perhaps the Core factor at the national, state and individual levels which limits adequate access to standard cancer care in our country.