the goan I network
PANAJI
Goa Cancer Society (GCS) General Secretary Dr Shekhar Salkar on Tuesday stated that around 1300 cancer cases were detected annually in the State.
He said that though the rate of cancer cases were 97 per lakh, which is on par with other states like Bihar, Goa has more breast, colon and lung cancer cases. “Lung and breast cancer is more prominent in women than men,” he added.
The Goa Cancer Society on Tuesday announced a scheme called “Dr Sharad Vaidya Cancer Screening package” at Manipal Hospital at a concessional rate.
GCS is a non-profit organization headed by industrialist Srinivas Dempo, which works for prevention and cure of cancer.
Dempo informed that in the last financial year in February and March, 290 people availed this facility which included 194 women and 96 men. The society has also announced a scholarship of Rs 5 lakh for research in Cancer.
Goa Cancer Society has a health care facility at Manipal Hospital-Goa for all its members which gives 15 percent discounts on the total bill if members have insurance.
Dempo also informed that the GCS funded a study in 2016-17 - “The expression of an SMA and CD-163 in Oral squamous cell carcinoma” by Dr Anupama Mukherjee, which was invited as a paper presentation at the ‘2018 Joint Congress of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology’ and International Association of Oral Pathology at Vancouver, Canada.
Dr Salkar: Not intake of formalin but its inhalation causes cancer
PANAJI: Does consumption of fish laced with formalin cause cancer? No, says Dr Shekhar Salkar. “There is no evidence to show that formalin intake causes cancer but there are studies which indicate that inhalation of Formaldehyde (formalin) causes cancer.”
Dr Salkar further said that, “In fact, we should take more care while eating fruits. Fruits which we consume are more prone to have contaminated substance than fish which we can clean, cook and eat.
Dr Salkar also emphasised the need for a long period of study, at least 20 years, relating to cancer with a large sample of State’s populace, which would revolve around their diet habits, family background, area and its locality. “Goa Cancer Society can take up this project if some funding partner comes forward to collaborate with us,” he added.
Dr Salkar also stated that late detection of cancer creates a problem with the treatment. “A patient has to spend about Rs 2.5 lakh in 15 days for treatment of cancer which is late stage,” he said.
