European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the leading European professional organisation for medical oncology, has presented Cytecare Hospitals in Bengaluru with ESMO accreditation as a Designated Centre of Integrated Oncology & Palliative Care. Cytecare is the first  cancer hospital in India to receive this prestigious accreditation within 3 years of inception . The accreditation was presented during the 6^th ESMO world congress at Barcelona, Spain in September 2019.

The ESMO Designated Centres of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care accreditation programme was initiated in 2003 to recognise cancer centres that achieve a high standard of integration of medical oncology and palliative care. The ESMO accreditation is valid for three years.

European Society of Medical Oncology provides the accreditation after rigorous assessment of the hospital to ensure that the care is patient centric. Till date only 10 Hospitals in India have received this award. For Cytecare, this has been possible because of the sustained ethos of initiating Comprehensive Oncology care in the first year, which includes interdisciplinary Cancer Care, followed by improvising services in the second year and extending services towards caregivers and families in the third year. 

Every cancer is different, as is every patient battling the condition. Cytecare specialises in customised oncological care. From Disease Management (chemotherapy, radiation and surgery) to Supportive Care (blood transfusions, electrolyte, IV fluids, etc.) and Symptom Control (ease pain, nausea, fatigue, constipation, sweating etc.), the multi-disciplinary team of clinicians is strongly guided by national as well as global protocols.

Speaking about the latest global recognition, Suresh Ramu, Co-founder & CEO, Cytecare Hospitals said, “We are honoured to receive the ESMO certification, which is granted only to outstanding oncology centres in the world. As India’s first organ-site focused oncology care private hospital, Cytecare is founded on the principle of ‘Fighting Cancer the Right Way’. We have an oncology team comprising of world-class cancer specialists, renowned for their holistic approach to a group of diseases that can be cured, if diagnosed and treated on time. Our practice is strongly in line with the following four pillars- Organ site focused and specialist Oncologists, Standardised Global Guidelines & Tumor Board, Patient-centric culture and Clinical Research.  For us, each patient is unique, as is their treatment journey. Our mission is to make India a global cancer care destination by creating a network of centres excellence across the country.”

As practitioners of cancer research methodologies and evidence-based therapies, Cytecare also offers the following services: Physical rehabilitation (helping patients recover and regain strength); Onco-nutrition (re-introducing the concept of balanced eating); Mind-body therapy (designed to support patients and his/her caregivers); Patient navigators (offering highly personal services and strong support network); Pain and palliation (aiming to support, prevent and ease the suffering from the effects of cancer and its treatment); and Psycho-oncology services (psychological counselling, psychotherapy and psycho-education to patients and their loved ones).

Dr Raghavendra, Senior Consultant- Pain & Palliative Care, Cytecare Hospitals, said, “Providing comprehensive care to cancer patients has been our ethos from the day of our inception. We have adopted a holistic and patient centric approach rather than focusing only on cancer treatment.

This approach has been proved beneficial worldwide; and not only improves the quality of life but also allows patients to undergo treatment and thus improving longevity of life. This kind of patient centric interdisciplinary care which ranges from simple pain management, psychology services, rehabilitation services, onco-nutritional support, mind body medicine and home care support services is a rarity to find under one oncological institute.”