Real Stories

How Cancer Pain Relief Care Changes Lives: An Example from Hyderabad

When 8-year-old Najeeb (not his real name) was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in his right eye, he was very sick, terrified of needles, and unable to tolerate chemotherapy. Against doctors’ recommendations, his parents decided to discontinue treatment and took him back to his village, which was 12 hours away from the Pain and Palliative Care Center at the MNJ Institute. For months, Najeeb would simply curl up in excruciating pain from a cancer that had also spread to the right side of his head. As Najeeb’s pain intensified, his parents decided to again undertake the arduous journey by bus back to the MNJ Institute.

The center provided Najeeb’s parents with oral morphine, ibuprofen, and other painkillers as well as detailed dosage instructions to provide Najeeb with effective pain relief. After one week, a transformed Najeeb returned to the center and was able to move about and even play. Najeeb’s mother reported that he was eating and sleeping well and had begun interaction with friends. Since then, Najeeb agreed to come to the hospital for future courses of chemotherapy, his tumor has regressed, and his quality of life has improved dramatically.

ACS India launched a palliative care training center for physicians, nurses, and social workers at the MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre in Hyderabad, India, in collaboration with the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR) and Pallium India. Through this collaboration, a new Department of Pain and Palliative Care was established that provides ongoing pain relief services within the hospital and training courses for health care professionals.