In a significant step towards strengthening the cancer prevention and care in Jammu and Kashmir, the Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department is formulating a comprehensive “Cancer Control Strategy for J&K” in collaboration with NITI Aayog, ICMR and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Punjab, a unit of Tata Memorial Centre.
The strategy aims to establish a structured and coordinated framework for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, palliative care and research across the UT. The focus will be on optimum utilization of the existing healthcare infrastructure, strengthening tertiary care services and capacity building of human resources through collaboration with reputed national institutions such as Tata Memorial Centre.
A key component of the initiative will be the rollout of a Population-Based Cancer Registry to enable evidence-based planning, improved surveillance and better management of cancer cases in the Union Territory.
In this regard, a high level meeting under the Chairpersonship of Secretary Health and Medical Education, Dr. Abid Rasheed Shah, was held today to deliberate upon the strategic framework for Cancer Prevention, Screening and Care in Jammu & Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Ashish Gulia from Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Punjab, along with senior doctors and experts involved in cancer management in J&K.
During the meeting, Dr. Ashish Gulia emphasized the need for a well-defined roadmap to tackle the growing threat of cancer. He highlighted the need for strengthening tertiary care facilities, identifying and addressing human resource gaps, promoting research projects and outcome indicators, enhancing public health Camps and scaling up palliative care services.
Secretary, H&ME Department, emphasised that a detailed gap analysis be undertaken across the institutions to strategically devise actionable plan with the timelines particularly in Government Medical Colleges & District Hospitals. He stressed focused training and capacity building of existing human resources and enhanced research initiatives at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Government Medical College Jammu and Government Medical College Srinagar in close consultation with Tata Memorial Centre for which a Project Monitoring unit (PMU) has been tasked.
Emphasizing the critical role of public health in cancer prevention, the Secretary called for strengthening the Department of Preventive and Community Medicine as the nodal pillar for effective strategies and screening programmes. He also emphasised the need for scaling up of the existing MoU between Tata Memorial Hospital and Government Medical College Jammu and exploring its replication across other medical institutions in J&K in larger public interest.
The proposed Cancer Control Strategy is expected to significantly strengthen cancer care delivery in Jammu and Kashmir through a coordinated, evidence-based and patient-centric approach.