Aga Khan University Hospital has added a state-of-the-art radiation treatment (Radiotherapy) facility to its existing cancer care services and now offers a fully comprehensive cancer care programme to patients. This was stated by Dr Nadeem Abbasi, Consultant Radiation Oncologist at AKUH, at a public health awareness programme in Hyderabad. He was addressing AKU’s ‘Sign, Symptoms and Care’ public health awareness programme held at Indus Hotel, Hyderabad.
The University Hospital has been providing surgery and systemic chemotherapy services to cancer patients. With the advent of radiotherapy, a fully comprehensive cancer care programme is being offered. All cancer clinics are now moved to Ibn Zuhr Building.
Explaining the process of Radiation Oncology, Dr Abbasi informed the audience that Radiation Oncology is the treatment of (malignant) tumours with high energy x-rays. It can be used as a standalone treatment or in combination with other modalities such as chemotherapy and/or surgery.
Dr Abbasi said that the experience of having radiation treatments is very similar to that of having x-ray imaging of your body. The side effects however are limited to the area of the body that is being treated. The team of the Radiation Oncology department is well experienced to deal with the side effects, he said.
Dr. Nehal Masood, Consultant Haematologist and Medical Oncologist at AKUH gave an overview of the causes of cancer. Regarding treatment of cancer, Dr Masood said that treatment is often more effective when cancer is detected early. Although there is no guaranteed way to prevent cancer, the risk can be significantly reduced by avoiding using tobacco products, choosing foods with less fat and eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, exercising regularly and maintaining a lean body and weight and avoiding the harmful rays of the sun and getting regular preventive health checkups.
Dr. Zehra Fadoo, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at AKUH, addressed the programme on the topic of ‘Cancer in children – a curable disease’. She said that cancer is the second highest cause of death in children between the ages one to fourteen even though childhood cancer is comparatively rare. “Childhood cancer is twice as curable as adult cancer,” she stated. Yet the children with cancer who live in the developing countries have less than 50% survival rate, as opposed to more than 80% in the developed world, she pointed out.
As part of its outreach programme and societal commitment to create awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKUH has organised over 200 ‘Signs, Symptoms and Care’ programmes in Karachi, Hyderabad and the UAE, benefiting more than 40,000 people. Similarly, Aga Khan University Hospital’s Patient Welfare Programme offers financial assistance to those patients who are unable to afford the medical cost of treatment. In 2005, 74 per cent of all patients treated at AKUH were from low- to middle-income groups. Since the inception of this welfare programme in 1986, over Rs 1.4 billion has been disbursed to more than 250,000 needy patients.
