A vertical portal (vortal) on cancer, www.indiacancer.org, claimed to be the first of its kind in the subcontinent, has been lauched here.

Announcing the launch, Dr P Jagannath, a cancer surgeon at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai said that the vortal heralds a healthcare initiative focused on educating the Indian public about cancer.

He said that the vortal is a network of organisations, professionals, patients, public, volunteers, corporates, NGOs and pharmaceutical industry catering to cancer care. Designed to provide information in all Indian languages, it already has the English and Telugu versions of its content in place.

Highlighting the benefits of the vortal to the industry, Dr Jagannath said www.indiacancer.org will eliminate intermediaries and B2C transactions and also help them in contacting the institutions having B2B requirements.

Dr Jagannath said that the site would be extremely useful to doctors as they could discuss complex problems online and access the latest in international research.

Access to state-of-the-art drug schedules and various treatment protocols along with their possible side effects is also available at the vortal.

For the patients and their relatives, the website provides answers to most of their queries.

Dr Jagannath is a member of the education committee of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC).