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AIIMS Rishikesh developing world class cancer treatment facilities

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By OUR STAFF REPORTER

Dehradun, 11 Dec: With the increasing incidence of cancer cases in India, AIIMS Rishikesh is all set to address this public menace. The cancer surgery department is in the process of procuring a HIPEC machine which will further give a new dimension to cancer treatment. This machine is used to deliver cancer drugs directly to the tumor in the abdomen. AIIMS Rishikesh is currently the only hospital to provide HIPEC cancer treatment in Uttarakhand. It was also the first AIIMS hospital after Delhi to begin HIPEC treatment for cancer patients.
This was stated here, today, by Prof Ravi Kant, Director and CEO of AIIMS Rishikesh.
According to him, the HIPEC machine is used to deliver heated cancer drugs directly to the tumor in the abdomen during surgery. Unlike in conventional cancer chemotherapy, HIPEC delivers large doses of cancer drugs directly to the tumor cells without having much side effects. When cancer is completely removed from the belly of the patients, adding heated chemotherapy increases life expectancy of the patient and reduces the cancer occurrence. This is especially beneficial in patients with advanced stages of ovarian and bowel cancer. Currently, only a handful of government hospitals in India provide this advanced treatment of cancer. None of the hospitals in Uttarakhand has this machine. The HIPEC machine is presently being brought from Delhi to provide this advanced cancer treatment.
Prof Ravi Kant said that all the advanced machines for cancer treatment are either available or will be made available soon as AIIMS Rishikesh is committed to providing world class treatment facilities for cancer treatment to the people of Uttarakhand. It has proved to be a big boon for people living in Uttarakhand as they need not travel to Delhi or other states for cancer treatment. In fact, a sizeable number of cancer patients from other states are coming to AIIMS Rishikesh for treatment. He further clarified that all the three core departments involved in the treatment of cancer patients – Cancer Surgery, Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology are fully functional at AIIMS Rishikesh.
Dr Manoj Gupta, Head of the Department of Radiation Oncology, highlighted that a second world class radiation machine, LINAC, will also soon be installed at AIIMS Rishikesh to bring down the waiting time for the cancer patients who require radiation as a part of their treatment.
Dr Pankaj Garg, a senior cancer surgeon at AIIMS Rishikesh, stated that the Cancer Surgery department is committed to providing all types of cancer operations including robotic surgeries for the patients with cancer. He added that Cancer is a fully curable disease if it is detected early. People must contact a cancer specialist immediately if any danger signs are observed– a persistent sore, development of swelling in any part of the body, blood in vomitus or cough, blood in the feces, hoarseness of voice, any change in size or colour of birth mark, indigestion or difficulty in swallowing.