Speakers at the inaugural function on Oncon 2K3, a three-day regional conference of the Indian Society of Oncology, held at the Indo-American Cancer Institute and Research Centre (IACI&RC) in Hyderabad on Friday night, stressed the need for providing latest medicare to cancer patients at an affordable cost. The three-day workshop-cum-conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Railways Bangaru Dattatreya, in the absence of Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was also not present for the inauguration.
Dattatreya called upon oncologists to create awareness among people for preventing cancer by highlighting the dangers of tobacco and tobacco-related products. He asked the doctors to reach out to cancer patients in the rural areas as several people were losing their lives due to delayed diagnosis. He said diagnosing cancer in the early stages posed a big challenge and told the doctors to conduct screening camps in the rural areas for early detection and treatment of the dreaded disease.
The Union Minister said the Centre was conscious about the dangers posed by cancer and had, therefore, decided to release Rs 15 lakh to each district in the country for creating awareness among the people. It had also quadrupled its share of the budget for the cancer hospital in Hyderabad. Realising the affordability problem, the government had exempted life-saving drugs from excise duty in the current budget, he said. He also spoke on the health insurance scheme which was essential for every individual.
Health Minister Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, who is also the chairperson of ICAI & RC, said the Institute aimed at treating cancer patients at affordable rates recently acquired latest equipment on radiation therapy worth Rs1.5 crore. Over 4 lakh people in the state were suffering from cancer. There was need to diagnose cancer at early stages so that the deadly disease could be cured, he said.
The Health Minister said the Institute had succeeded in achieving its primary goal of providing expert treatment for cancer at an affordable cost. The Institute would sustain its efforts to treat the poor and provide them rehabilitation.
NIMS Director Dr Kakerla Subba Rao, who is the vice-chairman of ICAI & RC, said besides treatment of cancer patients, the Institute had also taken steps to provide palliative care. He said the Institute was encouraging alternative systems of medicine to serve as palliatives for the patients.
Medical oncologist and Director of the New York Hospital, Dr Barry Kaplan, Chief Scientific Advisor and Director of Cancer at New York Hospital, Dr Nori Dattatreyudu, and Vice-President of the Indian Society of Oncologists, Dr K S Panda, also addressed the gathering.
Earlier, Dattatreya inaugurated the Micro-Multi-leaf Collimator which would be helpful in making non-surgical radiation treatment of cancer in brain. He also laid the foundation stone for the bone marrow transplant unit at the hospital premises.
Organised jointly by IACI&RC, the Indian Society of Oncology, South Zone, and Nandamuri Basava Taraka Rama Rao Memorial Cancer Foundation, the conference is being attended by more than 300 delegated from India and abroad. An inter-active session between a panel of Indian specialists and a team of cancer experts from the US, a number of technical sessions and symposia would form part of the conference.