MUMBAI
For cancer patients, nutrition is as important as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, say doctors. Experts who attended a workshop at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, agreed that among pediatric patients, malnutrition increased the chances of death by almost 50%.
Dr Banavali, head, department of Medical & Pediatric Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, said: "More than 50% of children with cancer in India are severely malnourished compared to 5% in the West. Malnutrition doubles the risk of death (in children with cancer) as well as doubles the risk of them abandoning therapy. Improving nutrition-level helps normalise and speed up the chance of cure. It is one of the interventions that has the most impact, and is as important as improving cancer therapy."
Health experts agree on the importance of nutrition, but said in India, dieticians had no opportunity to get trained in cancer-nutrition. "This is the first of its kind International Workshop on Nutrition in Cancer being organised in India under the aegis of International Society of Pediatric Oncology, the world's largest body of pediatric oncologists," said Dr Brijesh Arora, organising secretary).
The workshop was co-hosted by TMH, cankidskidscan, Cuddles Foundation, Unicef, ICCOPO, ICON and a chapter of Indian Academy of Pediatricians along with all the major NGOs and organisations working in the field of childhood cancer.
The two-day workshop will train around 300 participants from 100 cancer treating centres all over India.
"At Tata Cancer Hospital, our dedicated pediatric oncology dieticians offer holistic nutrition support, including specialised counselling and diet plan. Food (lunch) is free of calorie and rich in protein. We also provide therapeutic food supplements to all children, food grains to poor families and regular education and nutrition to parents," said Shalini Jatia, secretary, ImPaCCT Foundation.
The conference is to soon announce short-term training fellowships in cancer nutrition at Tata Memorial, and a special six-months training module for cancer nutrition for dieticians at SVT College Mumbai.
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