All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar is set to start a Tobacco Cessation Clinic soon to help people to overcome the deadly addiction, that is the single largest cause of cancer and other serious ailments.
The specialised centre would function under the Oncology wing of the premier health institution with the objective of providing the support and therapeutic interventions to not only kick the habit but also manage the de-addiction phases.
It would complement the cancer screening programme launched by the hospital which is proposed to be expanded to a population-based cancer registry (PBCR), the first project of its kind in Odisha.
Tobacco is the cause of more than 40 per cent of all cancers in the country. Over 60 per cent of oral cancers and as high as 80 per cent of lung cancers can be prevented if people quit tobacco. The problem is more acute in Odisha as the State is a major user of tobacco both in smokeless and smoke form. More than 43 per cent of the population uses chewable tobacco in some form or the other while initiation to the addiction is as early as adolescent years.
“We have already institutionalised a system of inter-department referral for suspected cancer patients. Any suspicion for cancer is sent to the Oncology wing for further evaluation and diagnosis. This is helping the hospital-based cancer screening initiative undertaken by AIIMS,” Head, Department of Radiation Oncology and Chairman Research Cell, Prof Dillip Kumar Parida said.
More than 1,300 people have already been screened under Cancer Education and Learning programme as well as inter OPD referral system. With the exception of existing cancer cases around 350 patients have been diagnosed and put in chemotherapy. Supporting care has been provided to around 150 cancer patients.
The institution has also launched Cancer Family Registry (CFR) for screening of high risk families under which around 25 such families have already been identified.
They are being counselled on prevention as well as early recognition of key signs of cancer.
After excluding external risk factors like tobacco, such families will be key to identifying genes, if any responsible for the hereditary transmission of the disease. This will lead to early detection and greater chances of cure, Prof Parida said.
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