Anup Bordoloi reached Mumbai on February 25 for his 64-year-old father’s cancer treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital.
After being tested, Jogen Bordoloi was diagnosed with food pipe cancer and was referred to a private hospital in Mumbai on March 17.
Belonging to Mangaldai, a town 75 kilometres north of Guwahati, this family with limited resources was relying on the Atal Amrit Abhiyan — a cashless healthcare scheme.
But it was denied by the hospital, which is not among 30-odd private sector healthcare institutes outside the state empanelled with the Assam government.
Left with no option, the father and son decided to move back to Guwahati, but fate had some other plans.
The Bordolois are now among scores of other cancer patients from Assam who are stranded in Mumbai due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
They have been staying at Assam Bhavan, which has been converted into a shelter for cancer patients and tourists from the state.
“We are providing free lodging and food to 200 people, most of whom are cancer patients,” Devasish Sarma, joint resident commissioner of Mumbai’s Assam Bhavan, says.
“We are also providing free food to around 7000 migrant labourers from Assam, who have been rendered jobless. A helpline number (022-27810888) has also been activated,” Sarma says.
Dilip Kumar, 37, who had come for bone marrow transplantation in Mumbai is another stranded patient.
“I was told to arrange Rs 15 lakh for treatment. For this, I have to travel back to my hometown Mangaldai to seek financial assistance, but I can no more travel amid the lockdown,” he says.
Same is the case with Nasim Khan, 44, of Titabor, a town located 300 kilometres east of Guwahati. He is in Mumbai along with his wife for her urinary tract cancer treatment.
Uttam Kumar Roy, 52, who went to Mumbai to get his brother treated for mouth cancer at Tata Memorial Hospital, says his brother’s case has been referred back to Guwahati, but now they are unable to make their way back.
Meanwhile, Kabita Dey, 36, from Guwahati is facing a problem of a different kind.
She was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at Christian Medical College, Vellore, but decided to shift to Tata Memorial Hospital because of the high costs involved.
“Here in Mumbai, doctors wanted my biopsy slides prepared at Vellore, but due to the lockdown, they haven’t reached yet, and I am stranded here with no treatment,” she says.
Why they move out
“The number of cancer patients stranded in Mumbai is too high, but the Assam Bhavan is doing a great job in supporting them,” M Angamuthu, commissioner of Assam’s general administration department, says.
“Even Assam has good cancer care facilities, but these came up a bit late. While some people are not aware of them, others don’t want to rely on local institutes and make a beeline for prominent hospitals in Mumbai and other metropolitans.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, Bibhuti Borthaur, superintendent of B Barooah Cancer Institute in Guwahati, says most of the times, cancer patients’ well-wishers suggest them to go to metropolitan cities, such as Mumbai and Chennai, to get better medical attention.
As public and private cancer care institutes in Assam have long waiting lists, they are unable to provide prompt treatment, he says.
“Since Tata Memorial Hospital is the most preferred cancer hospital in India, many patients end up going to Mumbai,” he says.
However, many of them, like Jogen Bordoloi, are later referred to other private hospitals, where the cost of treatment is much higher.
“Cancer patients undergoing treatment are more susceptible to any kind of viral infection,” says Borthaur. “We encourage patients to opt for hospitals at or close to their hometowns, as cancer treatment takes time.”
Generally, the cost of treatment is less than the cost of travel, stay and food. After a point, it gets difficult to bear the financial strain and people give up, he says.
However, Anup Bordoloi is not giving up just yet and is waiting for the lockdown to end so that he can bring his father back to Assam to resume his cancer treatment in Guwahati.
“I am hopeful,” he says.