It may be noted, that there are more than 8 million people in India at present who suffer from cancer and other debilitating and life threatening illnesses. They could all benefit from the setting up of palliative care services. This is a need that is bound to grow in the coming decades as people live longer and as the incidence of non-communicable diseases rises.

In much of the developing world, where need is often the greatest, there are usually great barriers to implementing a hospice service. To name a few: lack of pain relieving drugs such as morphine due to outdated legislation restricting their use; lack of professional and public education and training; and lack of finance for research and development. CanSupport has faced all these barriers in varying degrees while pioneering its path breaking home care service, the first of its kind in northern India. Through persistence and the support of our well wishers we have overcome them.

We believe, that given the Indian cultural milieu and the socio-economic background of the majority of our patients, home care is best suited for our conditions. It is much more cost effective to run a home care service rather than keep patients in a hospice or in a hospital ward. Many of our patients can not even afford the cost of travelling to and from a facility. Moreover, by caring for a patient at home we ensure that there is a family better equipped to deal with their grief and to go forward in life. This is preventive healthcare at its very best – another benefit to society of good palliative care.

It costs CanSupport approximately Rs.4000/- per patient, per month, to bring care to the home. As the majority of our patients have limited financial means and, in a number of cases, have spent their entire life’s savings on expensive cancer treatments, our home care service is free. In addition, we also provide free medicines, nutritional supplements, specialised equipment, and on occasion, even food rations, when the situation so demands it.

The service is sponsored through donations, which come from a variety of sources, from both home and abroad. We also receive donations in kind, occasionally from families we have looked after, in the form of wheelchairs, air mattresses, nutritional supplements, etc.
Big funders often choose to sponsor a team or a field centre.