MACT, during its field of advocacy and
policy level intervention on Tobacco Control and tobacco cessation has
identified that large number of Cancer patients are living with pain. The dream
to provide a lush green environment with world class amenities and technology to
enable the suffering human being to live a life of dignity can become a reality
with your generous contributions. Join hands with MACT in ensuring a “Right to
Live a Pain Free Life” India has about 1 million new cancer cases each year.
About 75% of them are diagnosed in the terminal stage when it is too late to
cure or even treat. They are further burdened by limited access to care as
treatment facilities are also mostly limited to urban areas of the country. As a
result an unestimated number of cancers patients are denied end of life care.
Although 75% of Indians still live in
villages 59% of all practitioners and 85% of hospital beds are in urban areas.
According to the Medical Council of India the allopathic doctor-population ratio
stands at 1:1722, whereas the WHO recommendation is 1:1000. India needs 74,150
community health centers per million but has less than half that number. The
doctor patients ratio is even less in rural areas. Every year about 1.6 million
Indians endure cancer pain and a vast majority of them die agonizing and
undignified deaths. Only a small fraction of these people have access to
adequate palliative health services. Despite producing 97% of global morphine
(WHO recommended ‘Gold Standard’ in pain management) legally, few cancer
patients in India benefit (3%) and majority (97%) continue to die in agonizing
pain. While the average morphine consumption in the country should be 900 kgs,
the current consumption is only a meager 120kgs.
Iyarkai
Unfortunately, palliative care is a non
starter in India. Not much was done in ensuring a pain free living for the
suffering patients. MACT as an organization works for the rights of the
marginalized looks at the ‘right to live a pain free life’ as an inherent
component of human life and dignity. Hence with the experience of working in the
field and the support of professionals in palliative care, MACT is dreaming of
ensuring a world class comprehensive palliative care for people living with
pain.
Iyarkai – a Centre for Life and Dignity’
believes that every cancer patient has a ‘Right to live a pain free and
dignified life’. Iyarkai offers a 5 acre cottage type facility for every patient
along with their care giver to relieve their pain and give them comfort. It is
situated in a calm, peaceful and serene natural environment. Iyarkai also has
fruit orchards, coconut and vegetable farms and an herbal garden towards
sustainable living. Iyarkai was founded by MACT, an organization that has been
working extensively for a decade and a half in Tobacco control activities.
Having worked in primary prevention of cancer and after working extensively with
cancer care centers MACT felt the need for palliative care services.
Activities of Iyarkai are as follows:
• Palliative Care • Preventive Activities
• Promotion of Indian System of Medicine
• Early cancer detection
• Tobacco Control
• Community Interventions
• Research Activities
• Support group for cancer
• Model Herbal Garden
• Advocacy
Iyarkai has based its activities in a holistic approach for an
esteemed life. Iyarkai implements a holistic treatment attempts to deal with the
whole person in the physical, emotional, spiritual, and social domains. Iyarkai
also aims to promote awareness about palliative care among the public and also
provide education and training for health care professionals and volunteers. | 
Iyarkai- A Center for Life and Dignity
