National Cancer Control Programme: beyond number games.

Continuing the theme of number game from the previous editorial, it is time to initiate a wider discussion on the complex number game embedded the Indian National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP). NCCP is replete with numbers: number of cancer cases, number of cancer centres, number of registries, number of machines, number of tobacco users, leading numbers, receding numbers, missing numbers, duplicate numbers, so on and so forth. Do we oncologists look at the National Cancer Control Programme beyond these numbers and in a more holistic manner? What exactly does the NCCP mean for busy trainee or practicing oncologists? I suppose for most of the oncologists, far too busy in managing patients and overwhelmed by problems in delivering optimal patient care, the national cancer control programme remains at the periphery of their cancer consciousness. For many oncologists like me, who started training in the eighties, NCCP may have crept into consciousness during those frustrating attempts to memorise the NCCP booklet for the essay paper of the MD examination. Once through the exams, NCCP often fades from consciousness, only to resurface in the consciousness of those who somehow get involved with things official such as ‘striving for Regional Cancer Centre status’, ‘Cancer Registry’, ‘Governmental Committees’ or ‘procuring Radiotherapy Equipment’. As Radiation, Clinical, Medical or Surgical Oncologists, while our hospital roles undoubtedly revolve around management of cancer patients, greater involvement on our part in the NCCP can only be in the best long term interests of our present and future generation of cancer patients. We need more visible and deeper engagement between the community of oncologists and the NCCP for fine tuning the cancer control agenda in our country? Active feedback and participation of more oncologists and pathologists in various NCCP programmes and discussion rounds can bring out more relevant issues facing the oncologists, cancer hospitals, cancer patients and the community to the fore of the NCCP agenda.