Written By: Muskan Gupta | Updated : January 30, 2026 3:29 PM IST
Medically Verified By: Dr Arun Kumar Giri
World Cancer Day acts as a reminder to us every year that cancer is not merely a health condition. It is a life-transforming experience which leaves a lot of impacts on patients and families, as well as on carers. Cancer is a growing problem, with its diagnosis increasing among people in India. Although medical science has achieved a lot in the treatment, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and targeted therapies, there is another aspect in cancer care that is also important: palliative care.
Cancer is an illness that does not only impact our body but also our mind and the entire family. Cancer in India is normally diagnosed at a more advanced stage, making it even more significant to pay attention to the comfort and quality of life of the patients. It is against this that the importance of palliative care comes in. It assists the patients to deal with the pain, relieves the symptoms and provides necessary support to patients, allowing an individual to live with dignity.
"Palliative care is, about compassion, not surrender," says Dr Arun Kumar Giri - Director Surgical Oncology, Aakash Healthcare. "It is about helping patients feel supported, comfortable and empowered when the journey gets tough." He further contributed that as we introduce palliative care early, patients and families can concentrate on living; they can be able to make memories and not merely survive the visitations and therapies in the hospitals.
During the 2026 World Cancer Day, there is a need to know why palliative care is becoming necessary for cancer patients in India and how this can change the cancer experience of never having to just struggle with the disease but also look after the individual.
Every year the cancer burden in India is increasing. Even now, many report to the hospitals when the disease is at its mature stage. This is due to ignorance, fear, stigma, monetary concerns, and the inability to avail screening facilities in most regions of the nation.
Treatment is complicated when the cancer has been diagnosed late. The patients can experience pain, shortness of breath, weakness, nausea, appetite loss, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Physical distress is accompanied by emotional and social distress to the patient and family.
In this case, it is not sufficient to pay attention only to chemotherapy or surgery. Patients must also be taken care of in a manner that enhances their comfort on a day-to-day basis and mental and emotional wellbeing. That is precisely what palliative care contributes to life-saving.
There is a large number of persons who believe that palliative care entails giving up. This is not true. Palliative care entails a more special form of medical care that aims at enhancing the quality of life of sufferers of serious illnesses such as cancer.
It co-exists with treatment of cancer. Palliative care may be offered to patients, although chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, or surgery may also be in place. The mission is also straightforward alleviate pain and support patients to live as comfortably and gratifyingly as they can. Palliative care looks after:
Palliative care treats the entire individual rather than just being a treatment of the disease.
The issues about cancer care in India are distinctive. The cost of long-term hospitalisation, revenue loss, commuting between the rural and urban areas, loss of jobs, and emotional exhaustion of many families. Quite frequently, also, carers are stressed, tired, and confused about what to do next.
Since most patients end up visiting hospitals when the conditions are at advanced stages, symptom management is of great importance. Dignity and peace can be deprived by pain, breathing difficulty, weaknesses and anxiety, unless handled appropriately. The palliative care fills this gap by:
The symptom of cancer that is most feared is pain. Lots of patients in India endure the pain silently, as they think that there is something ordinary or inevitable. Others go on to fear taking pain medicines in case they become addicted to them.
The palliative care teams are trained in the proper assessment of pain and delivery of safe and effective relief. The combination of medicines, nerve blocks, physiotherapy, and counselling is used. It is to ensure that pain is kept down such that the patient is able to eat, sleep, talk, and be around his or her loved ones. Proper management of pain makes patients get stronger emotionally and physically. They can gain certain control of their day-to-day life.
Cancer brings about numerous unpleasant symptoms in addition to the pain. These may include:
The palliative care is aimed at alleviating these issues. The modification of medicines, diet, breathing exercises, emotional support, and daily routines, even small ones, can count. In case of control over symptoms, patients become less tense and optimistic. They can receive better treatment and spend time with family.
It is not just the body that cancer attacks but the mind as well. The patient can be terrified, enraged, powerless or suffering. They are concerned about their future, their children, their money, and themselves.
Palliative care involves psychological support and counselling. It is advised that the patients should discuss their feelings and fears. Nurses, counsellors and doctors listen without faulting. Such psychological care makes patients feel that they are known and respected rather than that they are a case file.
Cancer is a family illness. The effect of one individual on the whole household may be experienced. Carers usually feel stressed, exhausted, pressured, and emotionally pained. Palliative care also takes care of the families by:
With guidance and support, families no longer feel alone or disconsolate.
The branch of mythicity in India is the huge myth that palliative care is reserved for the last days of life. The fact is that palliative care is to be taken early, immediately after the serious disease is diagnosed. The motto of palliative care, according to Dr Arun Kumar Giri, Director of Surgical Oncology at Aakash Healthcare, is this: "Palliative care is not surrender but compassion." It is related to assisting patients to feel valued, at ease and powerful in the face of the rough ride.
He also included that when palliative care is brought at an early stage, patients and families can concentrate on living, make memories and not just endure the hospital visits and treatments. Early palliative care helps the patients to manage the treatment, reduces anxiety and makes life quality.
Palliative care has one of the strongest functions: the preservation of dignity. Treatment of cancer may somehow make patients have a feeling that they have lost power to control their life. Palliative care honours personal wishes, values and choices. The patients participate involvedly in the decisions regarding treatment, comfort and daily living. They are motivated to talk of things that they care about the most, such as family, comfort, independence, or spiritual peace. This consideration makes the patients feel that they are human and not helpless.
Staying at the hospital does not necessarily pass as comfortable. Most of the patients would rather be at home, among family members. Indian home-based palliative care is gaining popularity. Patients will be able to receive pain management and symptom management, emotional support, and teleconsultation without the regular travelling to hospitals through home visits, teleconsultation, and trained nurses. This saves on costs, decreases stress and enhances living standards, particularly for older and metastatic cancer patients.
Palliative care is still not understood by many. Others believe that it involves cessation of treatment. Others believe that it is just presented to those who are dying. The awareness is required to break these myths on World Cancer Day 2026. Palliative care is living better, not giving up. It facilitates, and does not substitute, treatment. The sooner they know its true role, the sooner groups and individuals will embrace assistance and gain more.
It is recommended that patients and families feel free to enquire with the doctors about palliative care. It is their entitlement to comfort, support, and guidance as well as treatment. Where simple questions can help, they would include:
Initial discussions have the potential to turn the process of cancer into an easier and a less scary experience.
Prevention and cure are not the only things associated with World Cancer Day. It is also of consideration, dignity and humanity. Cancer is a condition that does more than happen to our body only but also to our psyche and the entire family. In India, cancer is commonly diagnosed in the advanced stages, where it is even more necessary to consider comfort and the quality of life. It is here that the palliative care comes in. It assists the patients to cope with pain, alleviate symptoms and provide services that patients may require to enable them to live with dignity.
The other typical function of palliative care is to assist the family in sorting out their stress and uncertainty as well as emotional challenges associated with the cancer journey. Palliative care is not about giving up, and as Dr Arun Kumar Giri puts it aptly, palliative care is all about compassion. It gives the patient a sense of support, comfort and empowerment even in the face of uncertainty in life.
World Cancer Day 2026: The time to stop fighting cancer is now. Focusing on caring for people, supporting families, and making sure that any cancer patient in India lives comfortably, respectfully, and with hope, no matter the stage of his or her journey, is also a focus, at least to me.
After all, it is not only about providing life with more years in the end, but it is about providing a life with more significance.
Disclaimer: Dear readers, this article provides general information and advice only. It is not at all professional medical advice. Therefore, always consult your doctor or a healthcare specialist for more information. TheHealthSite.com does not claim responsibility for this information.
