the goan I network
MARGAO
Saying that the number of cancer cases in Goa have seen a rise in recent times, the head of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai Dr Kumar Prabhash on Friday said there’s no definite reason behind the rise in cancer cases amongst the population in Goa, saying it will take around a decade to find out the exact reasons behind the rise in cancer in the State.
He, however, pointed out that since the epidemiology department of the Tata Memorial hospital has now tied up with the Goa government, the hospital is now running a registry which will in due course of time, saying around a decade, throw light on the reasons behind the rising cancer cases in Goa.
Dr Kumar Prabhash, who was in Margao to inaugurate a specialised cancer day-centre at Margao-based Aster hospital on Friday, said that cancer cases are on the rise across the world due to ageing and the lifestyles of the population. “Ageing and lifestyles of the population will decide the number of cancer cases. Fortunately or unfortunately, we have not adopted the best of lifestyles of the West. All these factors, including the eating and drinking habits, have contributed to the increase in the number of cases,” he said.
Saying that no survey has been done to ascertain the reasons behind the rising cancer cases in Goa, Dr Prabhash said the hospital has just started running a registry in Goa, which will in the future throw light on the cancer cases.
Asked to outline the reasons behind the cancer cases, Dr Prabhash said that consumption of tobacco and alcohol has contributed in a big way for cancer in the population. He further said that late marriages of women due to the modern lifestyles and late births of children also has led to the rise in cancer cases.
To a question, Dr Prabhash said that Tata Memorial Hospital has tied up with the Goa government for the treatment of cancer patients. He, however, said there’s a huge waiting list of patients from the State with the hospital receiving cases from across the country. In such a scenario, he favoured development of a centre at the local place to provide easy and complete care.
Specialised cancer day-care centre opens at Aster Hospital
MARGAO: A specialised, cancer day-care centre was inaugurated at the Margao-based Aster Hospital on Friday by Dr Kumar Prabhash, head of Department of Medical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
This latest facility is a joint collaboration between Aster Hospital, Margao and the Sunrise Oncology Centre, Mumbai.
The centre aims to provide comprehensive cancer care to patients from Margao and South Goa. Cancer patients can meet physicians for cancer treatment consulting, chemotherapy planning and treatment - all under one roof at the Aster Hospital.
The physicians available for chemotherapy consultation and treatment are experienced super-specialists “ affiliated to apex institutes in India and abroad. The new facility would provide state-of-the-art and team-based Oncology consulting and treatment “ irrespective of patient’s socio-economic background.
Speaking to media persons in Margao on Friday, Dr Sujoy Das, Director, Aster Hospital said, “Our goal is to provide high quality cancer care for all. Along with quality, the services will be comprehensive covering aspects like Onco-surgery, chemotherapy planning and treatment, other latest treatments like immunotherapy. It will also be supported by services related to counselling, nutrition and physiotherapy.”
The centre will have the services of experienced medical oncologists from Mumbai like Dr Ashay Karpe, Dr Bharat Bhosale and Dr Vijay Sharanagat, who are associated with top hospitals like the Tata Memorial Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Jaslok Hospital and Fortis Hospital. The surgical expertise will be driven by Margao-based doctors, Dr Sujoy Das, Dr Vishal Gude and Dr Judith Da Costa from Aster Hospital and supported by trained onco-surgeons from Mumbai.
