Malda Med College & Hosp to maintain cancer database

MALDA: Malda is all set to have a comprehensive cancer treatment approach to the ongoing treatment of cancer patients. A cancer database will be maintained by the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) under this system.

A virtual meeting was held by the West Bengal Health Secretary with health authorities of the district, including the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) and the Principal of MMCH recently.

“A nodal officer from the district will be appointed for the cancer facility. The doctors will be sensitised shortly on the treatment protocols. We are working on the guidelines. An order has been issued by the state government regarding the comprehensive cancer treatment facility,” stated Dr Parthapratim Mukherjee, Principal MMCH.

Under the comprehensive approach to the treatment of cancer, the patient detected at the primary level by the Shuswasthya Kendra, will be referred to the upper-level medical facility and finally to the MMCH for chemotherapy and radiation treatment. A register will be maintained with the names and addresses of the patients and will serve as a database of the affected and the treatment they are receiving.

The MMCH is now equipped with a chemotherapy unit and radiation treatment with modern LINAC (linear accelerator) machines for pin-pointed radiation to cancer-affected cells without posing any threat to the healthy tissues of the body.

According to the MMCH authorities, such a state-of-the-art machine has been installed only in Malda in the entire North Bengal region.It is learnt that 50 patients have been given chemotherapy and 24 have received radiation in January from the cancer treatment clinic under the MMCH. The radiation clinic had recently been inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. For the detection of gynaecological cancer among women Colposcopy is done thrice a week here.