Cancer Centre to Come up at IMSSH

Cancer Centre to Come up at IMSSH

The Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital (IMSSH) is set to upgrade its Oncology wing to a full-fledged cancer care centre soon.

The hospital is working on establishing a radiotherapy wing to make the gamut of cancer treatment and management services available under one roof. The radiotherapy unit will have linear accelerators, CT simulators and other facilities to ensure comprehensive cancer care for the people, acting Vice-Chancellor of SOA University Prof DK Ray said.

The Sum Hospital currently has speciality departments in surgical oncology and medical oncology, supported by a 10-bed day care centre and a Pain and Palliative care unit, which is the only of its kind facility in private set-up in Odisha.

“The IMSSH will grow as a state-of-the-art cancer facility in the State with the sole objective of providing the best of treatment at the lowest possible cost to the patients. Not a single patient will be turned back without treatment for lack of money,” head of Oncology Department, Dr Sunil Agrawala said.

Dr Agrawala said while cancer is rising at an alarming rate, the major concern was late detection. More than 80 per cent of patients were detected at an advanced stage when treatment was no longer an option. Thus, there was an urgent need to make people aware of cancer for prevention as well as empower doctors to increase early detection.

In an effort in the direction, the IMSSH is hosting the first National Sum Cancer Conclave on November 8. To be attended by more than 500 doctors from across the country, the conclave will not only discuss latest trends in cancer therapy but also strive to give direction to strengthen the battle against the disease.

The focus of the conclave would be on four most common cancers of Eastern India - breast, head and neck, colorectal and ovary. The deliberations will provide guidelines for treatment of cancers specific to Odisha, superintendent of Sum Hospital Dr PK Mohanty said.