Universal Cancer Conquest: Taking Oncology to Hinterland India

By Sharjeel Yunus

Expecting cancer care in rural areas and towns of India may have been ill-suited a few years ago, but Universal Cancer Care has been bravely entering these stigmatized spaces to ensure their ‘Cancer Care for All’ mission.

Cancer care has been severely strained during the pandemic. Delayed treatments and increased missed appointments resulted in the necessary routine care being unavailable at the right time. And that’s just the cities. Across rural India, as movement got precarious and unsteady, cancer care was but a fleeting thought. Yet the number of people suffering from the disease during the pandemic didn’t drastically change. The future isn’t bright either. According to a report by Ernst & Young, by 2020 India is expected to house 7.1 million cancer patients.

It is in this scenario that Universal Cancer Conquest comes in. UCC partners with small hospitals and Cancer Care Partner centers (CCPs) in rural areas and Tier 2 and 3 cities to offer comprehensive cancer care related services that allow for better care of ailing patients and their families. And the rigmarole of the treatment process is something that the founders understand first hand.

Ajay Balai, CEO & Co-founder at Universal Cancer Conquest, says “A few years ago when a family member was diagnosed with cancer, we faced a  number of challenges in the whole process of treatment, tests, and diagnosis. While going through this experience, I realized how difficult this process must be for someone from a non-urban area. This is when I decided to work on a cancer care model that creates a single roof solution to bridge the gap between quality cancer care services and patients.”

A Scalable Business Model

With a focus on building robust rural healthcare infrastructure for cancer care and a comprehensive ecosystem, UCC created a revenue-sharing model with leading hospitals and medical homes, partnerships with NGOs in rural care to provide screening services, and high quality diagnostic and treatment services using a network of CCPs. Currently, the oncology specialists are located in 10 small cities and over 70 villages which is a phenomenal figure. Technology, communications, and a co-operative network has been instrumental in their success.

According to Niraj Bora, Director, Universal Cancer Conquest, “Over the past five years, we have touched base with more than 5000 patients and detected another 5000 potential patients through screening. There have been cases where the patient is completely unaware of his/her condition until it’s too late. A number of patients who have been detected with cancer in the early stages have made it through the treatment.”

Dr Sachin Chopda, Ajay Balai and Niraj Bora

With a mission intended to bridge the gap in rural cancer care by providing improved accessibility and convenience across an end-to-end cancer treatment procedure, it’s fair to say that the business model is slowly picking up steam, with Niraj adding “We have pivoted from basic hospital tie-ups to a hub and spoke model recently, which includes small hospital tie-ups with basic infrastructure to cater to rural location patients and create more awareness. Many of our cases referred from outside take their Chemotherapy sessions at the CCP as sessions are now readily accessible. Additionally, we also ship the medicines periodically to them as per prescription so that they don’t have a problem getting it at the town level.”

Hub Hospital Pune

A core step in the business is to properly equip CCPs with the know-how for handling several forms of cancer treatment at the town level. UCC kiosks at the centers are equipped with crucial facilities as well.

Dr. Sachin Chopda, Managing Director, Universal Cancer Conquest says, “We offer diagnostics, radiation, surgeries, and other allied treatments — and we target geographical locations where cancer cases are not easily detected due to low awareness about the disease, lack of healthcare infrastructure, and access to specialist doctors. “

The Local, Collaborative Approach

The medical landscape across rural India is hard to comprehend. Especially if you’ve stayed the majority of your life in a city. With approximately 65% of Indians staying in rural areas and 95% of comprehensive cancer care centers present in urban areas, the consequences can be dire for families where members suffer from cancer.  A majority of this can be attributed to a lack of awareness of related symptoms and the social stigma around cancer. And cancer treatment can go a long way with early detection.

But championing such a service alone is nigh impossible in a society where health and disease are taboo. “Though there is a lot of stigmas attached to this disease, the conversation around cancer is slowly evolving. With scientific and technological advancements, there is a lot of hope and awareness around fighting the disease. With many startups working actively towards building awareness about cancer and its treatment, patients are now much more educated about how to deal with the disease.” adds Sachin.

UCC Samiksha

This modus operandi allows UCC to offer holistic cancer care services, and their digital platform, Samiksha, connects a specialist oncologist panel with the various CCP units through which guidance and advice are given to the patients. That said, in case of complex treatments, CCP specialists refer patients to centers in urban areas.

The Road Ahead

Long term illnesses can be extremely costly, but Universal Cancer Conquest has taken the necessary steps to ensure that money isn’t the prime driver of treatment. On this topic, Ajay says, “With the kind of tie-ups we have, we cover insurance and non-insurance patients as well. Patients covered under government schemes are also covered. Typically the hospital bills the patient, wherein we work under a revenue-sharing arrangement with the hospital.”

UCC is also a member of the National Cancer Grid, India’s governing body for cancer treatment,  and fielding a team of 12 individuals the team hopes to expand across Maharashtra in the coming few quarters with eventual plans to create a nationwide network. Although the company started only in 2015, they are taking swift strides towards their ultimate goal, and with the right backing and support, UCC can definitely become a shining example of cancer call for all, whether you’re in a city or a village.