CanSupport Information

ABOUT CanSupport India In India, over one million people are diagnosed with cancer annually. Almost 80% are incurable. The country is estimated to have an equal number of patients with other incurable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, and with progressive neurological, cardiac and respiratory disorders. The case for instituting palliative care services nationwide could not be more pressing. The CanSupport home care program was started in 1997 by Harmala Gupta, a cancer survivor. She approached the then Director of AIIMS, Dr P.K. Dave. A pilot project began with 6 patients with terminal cancer being referred to CanSupport's free of charge home-based palliative care service. These patients lived within a 25 km radius of AIIMS. After 6 months, patients began to be referred on a regular basis to CanSupport. Today, CanSupport has 23 home care teams located in different parts of the capital city and the National Capital Region (NCR). They look after more than 1300 cancer patients, in their homes, at any one time. It continues to be a free service. VISION A caring and supportive society where people with cancer and their families live with dignity, hope and comfort. MISSION To enable people with advanced cancer and their families to make informed choices and decisions and to receive appropriate physical, emotional, social and spiritual support. VALUES CanSupport aim for the highest professional and ethical standards of care Respect and value the knowledge, skills & contributions of all in the organization Respect the rights, choices & confidentiality of patients and their families Maintain transparency in interactions with patients, donors & well wishers Act as responsible stewards of resources