Welcome to the web site of the Indore Cancer Foundation Charitable Trust.
The Foundation was set up in December 1988. The event culminating in the formation of the Indore Cancer Foundation (ICF) dates back to 1987, when Dr. Digpal Dharkar was a young cancer surgeon on fellowships in head and neck surgical oncology in France, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and in the US under the world-renowned Dr. Jatin P. Shah of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA. Dr. Dharkar's decision to train under the best in the world and then come back to India to do something, received direction when Dr. Shah said, "Identify the needs of your region, plan for the future and exploit the tremendous potential for research in India's most common cancers, the head and neck cancers"
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On his return, Dr. Dharkar floated the idea of the project, of working in the field of cancer, reaching out to people in the remote, rural areas of the region and offering them state-of-the-art treatment, creating an awareness on the importance of early detection and the need to get the right treatment; and in all this maintain a special focus on oral cancer.
Oral cancer is the 6th most common cancer worldwide. Unfortunately, it ranks as the most frequently observed cancer amongst men in India (33% of all the cancers). This is largely due to the habit of smoking, chewing tobacco & pan and similar products. This causes in India, the highest incidence of mouth cancer anywhere in the world. Thus, there are around 200 000 new head and neck cancer patients every year. |
