Provision of Nutrition Kits for seriously ill patients with life-limiting medical conditions

Hospice and palliative care services are for patients with a wide-range of serious life-limiting illnesses such as Cancer, heart disease, dementia, lung disease, neurological disorders and HIV/AIDS.

In India, around 1 million new cancer cases are reported out of which 80% are beyond curative treatment. At present, palliative care reaches only 1% of those requiring end-of-life care.

Families living with advanced diseases have unique problems including geographic isolation, additional care giving and financial constraints especially if the bread winner has to give up his/her job due to the disease or to take care of the patient.

Patients suffer from all kinds of distressing symptoms like pain, fatigue, inability to eat and drink, sleeplessness, etc.

When the disease advances, nutrition and food intake becomes a growing concern for the family. Adequate sources of vitamin and minerals are vital. This is particularly important for nerves and muscles which require key nutrients to work well. Thus proper nutrition is an integral part of palliative care.

DEAN Foundation has a 20 year history of being the premier provider of hospice and palliative care services in the community, free of charge. We treat those with serious, incurable, chronic, progressive and advanced diseases and the elderly, with special emphasis on the poor and the marginalized. About 75% of our patients are in advanced stages of Cancer, multi-organ failure, heart diseases, lung diseases, osteoarthritis, motor-neuron disease, rheumatoid arthritis, old age related disorders, etc.

Through our outpatient and home-care services, our medical teams offer medical care, emotional and spiritual support tailored to the patient's wishes to remain at home, as pain free and comfortable as possible. DEAN Foundation has cared for and improved the quality of life of 12,429 patients, of whom 9469 were suffering from cancer. This includes 2584 children between the age 0 to 12 years; 1344 were cancer patients.

DEAN Foundations essentially works towards

1. Delivering community-based and patient-centered care

2. Bridging the disparity in access to palliative care services for marginalized patients and their families

3. Creating awareness and deepening the understanding that one can receive curative treatment alongside palliative care

An early focus on nutritional problems and needs helps to slow down weight loss, build resistance to progression of disease and improve quality of life. The impact is felt by patient and family alike. Provision of nutrition kits for seriously ill patients with life-limiting medical conditions accomplishes the following:

• Helps maintain a strong immune system and reduces the risk of infection

• Strengthens patients to cope with the demands of illness and treatment

• Facilitates and increases wound healing and tissue repair

• Reduces the risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies and resultant complications

• Enables the patient and the family to enjoy overall wellbeing.