Dhenkanal: Cancer care facilities will soon be available at the district headquarters hospital here as infrastructure is being upgraded. The district has the maximum number of stomach cancer patients, a report said Sunday.
The matter came to light during the visit of Dr Dinesh M. Pendharkar, senior consultant of Asian Cancer Institute in Mumbai. Pendharkar visited the district headquarters hospital and attended a free cancer camp where he conducted a check-up of 67 patients and advised them. He said cancer is curable if detected in the beginning. This apart, he stressed on undertaking awareness programme in urban and rural areas to combat the disease.
During the visit he said that infrastructure facilities do exist in other hospitals apart from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar but it has to be developed and upgraded to provide treatment to cancer patients of faraway places.
He said very soon cancer treatment will be launched in the district headquarters hospital for which medicine specialist Rajkishore Sethy has undergone special training in Mumbai to provide treatment. He said such facilities have already started in Nabarangpur and Rourkela. He assured to visit the hospital every two to three months to oversee its functioning.
Collector Bhupendra Singh Poonia welcomed Dr Pendharkar at the function attended by CDMO Dr Jyotish Chandra Mohapatra, ADMO Dr Sujata Rani Mishra, Dr Nagajananda Das, chemotherapist Dr Raj Kishore Sethy, surgeon Dr Ramesh Chandra Sahu, surgeon Dr Ramesh Chandra Sahu and project manager Rupak Mohapatra of National Health Mission. The CDMO said the construction of a cell for cancer patients in the last phase will be made operational within a week.
PNN
