GUWAHATI, July 10 - A two-day national continuing medical education (CME) programme on oncology organised by the Dr Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) in association with the Indian Society of Oncology, concluded on Sunday.
While Dr JK Singh, president of the Indian Society of Oncology delivered the welcome address, Dr Amal Chandra Kataki, Director, BBCI, gave an overview of cancer treatment facilities in the North East.
The invited speakers for the CME programme were Dr KS Panda from Cuttack, Dr D Barman of Guwahati, Dr Preeti Jain from Jabalpur, Dr Ravi Deo and Dr Ramesh Bilimaga from Bengaluru, Dr Geeta K and Dr Harit Chaturvedi from New Delhi, Dr Arvind Krishnmurty from Chennai, Dr SS Nayyar from Indore and Dr Raman Deshpande, Dr Sanjay Sharma, Dr Bharat Chauhan and Dr Dhairysheel Sawant from Mumbai.
The speakers deliberated upon various aspects of management of oral, breast, thyroid, colon, lung and uterine cervical cancers.
Around 80 doctors and health care professionals involved in cancer treatment and care from the entire North East attended the CME. There was a separate interactive session with different NGOs working in the field of cancer prevention and control in the region.
Deepsikha Foundation, Roodali, Phathik, Navajeevan Sarathi and some other NGOs participated in the interactive session along with media personnel.
The harmful effects of tobacco and implementation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act were discussed. Surgical video presentations of complicated procedures were made during the two-day programme.
Data available with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has revealed that only 12.5 per cent of cancer patients come for treatment in early stages of the disease. One in eight Indians is likely to develop cancer in their lifetime, and in the North East the risk is higher. Cancer of breast with estimated 1.5 lakh new cases during 2016 is the number one cancer in the country. Cancer of the lung is the next with estimated 1.14 lakh (83,000 in men and 31,000 in women) new cases during 2016. Cancer of the uterine cervix in women is the third most common cancer with estimated 1 lakh new cases in 2016. Cancers associated with the use of tobacco account for about 30 per cent of all cancers in men and women.
