Good food keeps cancer kids on treatment

MUMBAI: On the eve of International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15, doctors at Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel said that better nutrition helped reduce dropout rate among its paediatric cancer patients undergoing treatment.
“In 2009, the percentage of children who refused or abandoned treatment was around 25%, but due to holistic support, which included funding and nutritional aid, this rate has dropped to 4.8% in 2015,’’ said Shalini Jathia, secretary of IMPACCT Foundation, which works with Tata Memorial Hospital’s paediatric department.
With help from donors, government funding and corporate social responsibility, the hospital has helped most children who come there for treatment.
“In India, 70% of the 10,000-odd cancer-affected children, who manage to reach hospital for treatment, are malnourished. This reduces their chances of cure by almost 50% in comparison to children who are not malnourished,’’ said paediatric cancer specialist Dr Brijesh Arora from Tata Memorial Hospital.
He, along with IMPACCT Foundation, then started a programme to train nutritionists on the needs of a cancer-affected child, training 66 nutritionists working in cancer-care hospitals across the country so far. These nutritionists are paid by NGOs such as Cuddles Foundation, which, in turn, raises funds from corporate houses and individual donors.
Purnota Bahl of Cuddles Foundation, which provides daily meals to children undergoing cancer treatment at eight public hospitals in three cities, said, “Most people willingly give money to fund cancer treatment for children, but not many realize that many of these paediatric patients are malnourished. So, shouldn’t we give them food to reduce the side-effects of chemotherapy?’’
Kolkata resident Ranjeet Srivastav, father of Hrithik (10) being treated at Tata Memorial Hospital since January,, said his son’s weight has increased in this time. “We not only get ghee and protein biscuits, but advice too on what to feed our children so their health improves.”