Roche & DIWAS launch cancer educational initiative for diabetologists

New Delhi: Roche Diabetes Care India has partnered with Diabetes in Women Awareness Strategies (DIWAS), a non-profit organization working for girls’ and women’s health, to implement an educational program that equips diabetes care professionals and general physicians to screen and prevent cancer.

Dr Usha Sriram, Founder, DIWAS and Head of the Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology at Voluntary Health Services, Chennai, said, “There is a growing awareness of the link between diabetes and cancer, but much more needs to be done. Women seem to be more vulnerable to this complication. By empowering physicians, diabetologists and endocrinologists with the knowledge and the tools necessary to screen, detect, make appropriate referrals, we can help to prevent cancer and partner with oncologists in this endeavor. This synergy could contribute immensely to lowering the burden of cancer in people with diabetes.”

There is growing evidence to show that people with diabetes mellitus have a higher incidence of some cancers. This could be because of some risk factors that are common to both, such as chronic inflammation, obesity and post-menopausal hormonal disturbances.³ It is common for some patients to have both conditions, which can lead to poor prognosis and overall health outcomes. Often there is delay in a cancer diagnosis amongst patients with diabetes. Additionally, there are no clear guidelines on how to approach cancer diagnosis in diabetes, and vice versa.

“With increasing prevalence of diabetes and cancer in India there is tremendous opportunity for us to partner closely with different stakeholders to help manage these two complex diseases. RDC, India is committed to collaborate with various critical stakeholders to tackle healthcare challenges associated with diabetes and other critical illnesses, cancer being one of them. We are confident that our collaboration with DIWAS will help set up the integrated care for diabetes and cancer in India and help us get better clinical outcomes for cancer patients.” said Omar Sherief Mohammad, Managing Director and General Manager, RDC India.

“Roche is pleased to support DIWAS in its noble educational initiative and integrated approach to bring much needed attention and awareness of cancer risk in patients with diabetes. The program will focus on cancer screening and prevention to benefit patients with diabetes in prevention, early detection and disease monitoring. Roche believes that trained healthcare professionals are critical to ensure quality of care and we are proud to have an opportunity to support this cause that will help us reduce the burden of cancer in patients with diabetes,” said Narendra Varde, Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics India and Neighbouring Markets.