The State will set up a multidisciplinary State Cancer Control Board and District Cancer Control Committees to provide leadership and guidance and to ensure accountability when the Kerala Cancer Control Strategy (KCCS) 2017-30 is launched.
This State board will have a technical advisory group to help it monitor and operationalise each of the elements of the KCCS. The government will develop and publish a set of treatment protocols for the 10 most common cancers in Kerala and update it every five years. All hospitals that are part of the Kerala Cancer Care Grid will have to follow these treatment protocols as well as referral protocols. A monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with these protocols will also be put in place.
Administrative orders will be issued making cancer a notifiable disease, as in States such as Punjab or Karnataka. All hospitals, public and private, managing cancers in the State will report the cases to the district cancer committees. The KCCS will focus on early diagnosis rather than population-based screening, as the latter option will not be cost-effective given the current inadequacies in infrastructure and human resource.
The KCCS will also have special focus on managing childhood cancers, improving access to pain and palliative care services across the State and integration of various insurance and support schemes to provide a single window system for cancer insurance.
