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PROJECT DESCRIPTION â€" "Hope Beyond HIV": Early Cancer Detection & Treatment for People Living with HIV
Needs identified. Antiretroviral therapy has enabled people living with HIV (PLHIV) to live long lives, but their longer survival has exposed a sharply elevated cancer risk â€" women living with HIV face roughly a six-fold higher risk of cervical cancer (WHO), alongside raised risk of breast, oral and colorectal cancers. At AHF â€" Jyothis Care Centre (AHF-JCC), Mumbai, approximately 1,300 socio-economically disadvantaged PLHIV receive care, yet almost none have ever been screened for cancer. Over 13 years, physicians detected 31 cancers incidentally during routine care; 15 patients died, most because the disease was found too late. A structured 2024 pilot caught 3 cancers at their earliest stage â€" all 3 patients are alive and in treatment. India's cervical-screening coverage is only about 2%, and for poor PLHIV it is effectively zero. Critically, even where screening occurs, these patients cannot afford diagnosis or treatment, so referrals collapse. The identified need is therefore twofold: structured cancer screening for this population, and a funded pathway that carries positive cases through to actual treatment.
How the project meets these needs. The project delivers structured five-part screening â€" breast, cervical, oral and colorectal cancer plus HPV DNA testing â€" to all 1,300 registered PLHIV through 26 monthly community camps held at or near AHF-JCC (about 50 patients per camp). Screening is delivered by Tata Memorial Centre specialists, who waive their professional consultation charges. Every screen-positive patient is fast-tracked into confirmatory diagnosis and staging, then into oncology treatment at ACTREC (Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Kharghar â€" Tata Memorial Centre's treatment and research arm), with a dedicated treatment-support fund bridging costs the patient cannot meet and ACTREC partially co-funding through its own grant-in-aid mechanisms. A data and evidence component documents cancer risk, stage-at-detection and outcomes among PLHIV, producing a replicable model for other HIV care centres. The intent is to make annual cancer screening a permanent, routine part of HIV care at AHF-JCC.
Timeline (12 months of screening + set-up and reporting). Month 0 â€" mobilisation: finalise MOUs with AHF-JCC, Tata Memorial Centre and ACTREC; establish screening protocols, consent framework, data systems and patient outreach. Months 1â€"6 â€" first 13 camps, approximately 650 PLHIV screened, referral and treatment pathway operational. Month 6 â€" mid-term review and refinement based on early data. Months 7â€"12 â€" remaining 13 camps, full population of 1,300 covered; diagnosis and treatment continuing. Month 13 â€" final impact report, financial statement, case studies and findings, with a plan for annual continuation.
Use of project funds (total USD 60,000). Cancer screening for four cancers across 1,300 PLHIV â€" USD 16,900; HPV DNA screening â€" USD 15,600; camp operations for 26 camps (infection control, biomedical-waste handling, logistics, refreshments) â€" USD 7,050; diagnostic confirmation and staging for screen-positives (biopsy, imaging, pathology) â€" USD 4,000; post-screening treatment-support fund via ACTREC â€" USD 10,000; research, data systems and dissemination of findings â€" USD 4,000; programme coordination, monitoring, evaluation and reporting â€" USD 2,450. No funds are used for professional consultation fees, which Tata Memorial Centre waives; the treatment-support fund is leveraged, with ACTREC bearing part of each patient's cost.
How club members will be involved. The Rotary Club of Kharghar Midtown provides sustained, hands-on engagement across all 13 months, not merely funding. Global Grant Chairs Rtn. Anamika Shrivastava and PP Rtn. Shailendra Waray lead the application, financing, partner coordination and reporting. President Rtn. Dr. Komal Gundewar (a practising physician) serves as clinical liaison, and Aarogyadaan (Healthcare) Lead PP Rtn. Shailesh Patel directs the service avenue, with Service Projects Director / President-Elect Rtn. Ritesh Kumar as primary contact and overall coordinator. Club members volunteer at every monthly camp â€" patient mobilisation and outreach, registration, camp logistics and support, patient navigation and escorting of positive cases to ACTREC, and health-literacy sessions. Members also run monitoring and evaluation (recording data, compiling monthly summaries, mid-term and impact reports), secure CSR and synergy-club contributions, and administer the ring-fenced funds through the Rotary Kharghar Charitable Trust.
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