The senior official said that travelling to Mumbai for treatment is a major challenge for many cancer patients
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A senior official at the Tata Trusts has said efforts were being made to establish an advanced hospital in the Latur district in Maharashtra for cancer patients and reduce their challenges for travelling to Mumbai for treatment, PTI reported.
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Highlighting the need for cancer hospitals at the district-level which are affiliated with government medical colleges, Dr Kailash Sharma, medical director with Tata Charitable Trust told PTI that timely biopsy reports and affordable cancer treatment are critical for the common people.
He also said that travelling to Mumbai for treatment is a major challenge for many cancer patients.
The official said that in order to address this issue, they have already established modern cancer hospitals in Varanasi, Punjab, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati, PTI cited.
To provide state-of-the-art cancer treatment facilities and to make faster biopsy reports for patients in Latur and Dharashiv districts, efforts are being made to establish an advanced cancer hospital, affiliated to the Vilasrao Deshmukh Government Medical College, he said.
As per PTI, the initiative will be modelled on the cancer hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said Dr Sharma, who visited Latur last week for an Onco-Pathology Hematology Conference.
Citing recent reports, he expressed concerns over the rising global incidences of cancer.
Currently, India has 13 to 14 lakh cancer patients, with 6 to 7 lakh deaths annually. By 2030, these numbers are projected to rise to 20 to 22 lakh, with nearly 12 lakh annual deaths anticipated, the official said, PTI reported.
According to PTI, Dr. Sharma also discussed various types of cancers, their prevalence and underlying causes.
He noted that breast cancer in women is less common in rural areas (20 per lakh) compared to urban areas (35 to 40 per lakh). Factors like late marriages, delayed childbirth, reduced breastfeeding, hormonal changes, sedentary lifestyles and obesity contribute to this trend, he said.
Oral cancer among men is alarmingly high due to the consumption of tobacco and gutka, affecting 30 out of every one lakh men, PTI reported.
Dr Sharma further highlighted the successful initiatives by the Tata Trusts in providing relief to children battling cancer and their families by offering free treatment as well as education, meals, medication and even special playrooms for their entertainment.
"This initiative has given a humane and compassionate face to medical services at the Tata Cancer Hospital, making it a benchmark of success," he added, PTI cited.
(With PTI inputs)
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