The Tripura health department will start eight screening centres in the state to identify cancer patients.
Gautam Majumder medical superintendent of the Regional Cancer Centre in Agartala announced his on the occasion of “World Cancer Day” on Thursday.
The cancer center organized a cancer awareness rally in Agartala on the occasion.
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Gautam Majumder said, “60-70 people per one lakh population incur cancer every year in Tripura. On an average 2500 new patients register their names in our hospital every year.”
“As per our estimate, the number of new cancer cases should be 3000 and so, about 500 patients do not turn up for treatment or are unaware that they have the disease,” Mazumdar said.
On an average, 100 people per one lakh population incur cancer every year in India, while Mizoram has a very high and worrisome average of 200 people per lakh population incurring the disease every year.
The Tripura health department and Regional Cancer Center’s initiative to open eight screening centres in the state will greatly help in identifying new cancer cases and facilitate treatment.
Timely and proper diagnosis and treatment greatly increase the chance of survival of cancer patients.
The centres will open at Dharmanagr, Ambasa, Udaipur, Kumarghat, Jolaibari, Bishalgarh and Regional cancer at Agartala.
“The main motto behind opening these centres is to identify the patients early and provide them with good medical treatment. With care they can lead a healthy life even with the disease,” said Majumder.
Mazumdar also said that cancer surgery will be conducted in the Regional Cancer Center from this month.
Other treatment procedures like chemotherapy and radiotherapy are already available in the hospital that receives nearly 10,000 cancer patients in a year.