SHILLONG, April 23 - Doctors from the North East would be provided free specialised training on Cancer at Adyar, Chennai while the Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute would have more courses on Cancer in collaboration with Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh today informed this at the North Eastern Council (NEC) auditorium during inauguration of the week-long Conclave on Cancer. He said DoNER would sponsor the doctors� training at Adyar.
The Conclave is being held as the NE has a high rate of Cancer cases, especially those related to the head and neck. While at the national level the rate is 92 cancer patients per lakh population, in places like Aizawl in Mizoram the figure is 274 per lakh.
Singh said, with the new courses slated to begin from this year at Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, one would be able to pursue DM (Doctor of Medicine) and MCh (Master of Surgery) in Cancer.
Some of the doctors from Tata Memorial Cancer Institute would be the faculty members. The degrees would be provided by the Homi Bhaba National Institute, which is a deemed University.
The Union Minister said the Medical Council of India has some issue with the allocation of these degrees. The issues, he said, would be sorted out soon.
Three States � Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram � have nominated doctors to undergo this free specialised training. Singh urged other States of the region to nominate doctors for these specialised courses.
Suggesting that the nominated doctors should at least have 15 years of service left and mustn�t be ones suspected to go for voluntary retirement after completion of the specialised courses. �A doctor ideally should have more than 15 years of service left�, he said.
Meanwhile, the first of its kind Conclave is being held by the NEC in collaboration with Pink Campaign (NGO). Awareness programmes in schools, durbars (traditional institutions) and Army units in various parts of the city and Jowai will be held over the week.
Experts in the field drawn from All India Institute of Medical Sciences would be holding discussions with school and college students, community leaders and defence personnel providing information about the disease.
