The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : GRH cancer awareness drive a big draw

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 10, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

GRH cancer awareness drive a big draw

R. Sujatha

GRH Oncology Department has dedicated block for cancer treatment A final warning from oncologists: give up tobacco. Most give up only after some damage is done.

CHENNAI: When private hospitals are marketing themselves as enviable health care service providers, the Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH) in Chennai is showing the way for State-run institutions with its achievement in cancer treatment.

A fortnight after GRH launched its cancer awareness campaign, its Department of Oncology has reason to be pleased; it has received at least 245 calls. Health Minister N. Thalavai Sundaram launched the drive on May 19.

Information sought

Most callers sought information about the disease. Quite a few were from the north and north-eastern States — West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa and Sikkim.

In the first 15 days, the department received 43 e-mails. Some of them were from outside the country.

"The first e-mail was from Dubai," says R. Rajaraman, department head. Not all e-mails could be traced to the place of origin. Quite a few sought second opinions on the treatment they were currently taking. Others wanted to know the address of the hospital. The Oncology Department is less than a decade old but since there is a dedicated block for cancer treatment with 28 sanctioned beds people seek the hospital's facilities, says R. Thirunarayanan, the hospital's superintendent.

Specialised surgery

The hospital has also taken up specialised surgery such as lower limb rotationplasty, where the cancerous portion is amputated and the rest of the limb is salvaged. There is one concern for doctors here: Despite medical advice both patients have so far not shown up for follow up. The surgeries, which were performed more than four months ago, could cost up to Rs. 1 lakh in a private hospital. "Most people do not understand the value of treatment," laments Dr. Rajaraman.

The cancer helpline number is 55167688. Their e-mail is cancerhelp@yahoogroups.com.

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