“We are treating 30 per cent more patients. This means that 30 per cent of patients were not treated during the pandemic and they are now coming back. Some of them are not greatly advanced, but some of them are,” said TMC Director Dr Rajendra Badwe
Mumbai:
Post-coronavirus pandemic, a city-based premier cancer institute has reported 30 per cent more patients, many of them in advanced stages, a top official said on Saturday.
The reason could be the fear of visiting hospitals during the pandemic, doctors at the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) said.
TMC Director Dr Rajendra Badwe said the institute treated 60 per cent of patients of its regular capacity during the coronavirus pandemic. As the COVID-19 cases have gone down significantly, patients are returning for treatment again.
“We are treating 30 per cent more patients. This means that 30 per cent of patients were not treated during the pandemic and they are now coming back. Some of them are not greatly advanced, but some of them are,” Dr Badwe told PTI.
He said the hospital is documenting such cases to understand the magnitude of cancer progression.
Waiting for two-three months may not make any difference, but waiting for a year or two would make a difference, Dr Badwe said.
During the pandemic, health services other than those related to coronavirus took a hit as the hospital infrastructure in the world and the country was overloaded due to the patient surge.
Meanwhile, Tata Memorial Centre, an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy, on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vedanta Medical Research Foundation’s flagship initiative, BALCO Medical Centre (BMC) to drive excellence in cancer care in the country.
As per the agreement, BALCO Medical Centre and Tata Memorial Centre will join forces for the exchange of knowledge, and enhancement of skills, capabilities and core practices, according to an official statement released by the Department of Atomic Energy.
BMC will leverage Tata Memorial Centre’s (TMC) expertise and decades of experience in cancer treatment for developing best-in-class technical and medical guidelines.
With this association, TMC will also empanel BMC as a referral centre for patients from Chhattisgarh, and neighbouring states.
As part of the deal, the two organisations have mutually agreed to share best practices and evolving knowledge on cancer treatment. BMC will take part in the National Cancer Grid Virtual Tumour Boards to drive excellence in patient care.
Tata Memorial Centre and BALCO Medical Centre have also agreed to mutually conduct and participate in continuing medical education (CME) sessions at both locations.
They have also agreed to conduct joint research or multi-centric trials. R A Badwe, Director of Tata Memorial Centre, and Bhawna Sirohi, Medical Director of BALCO Medical Centre signed the MoU. Jyoti Agarwal, Chairperson of BALCO Medical Centre was the chief guest at the event.
Speaking about the association with BALCO Medical Centre, Badwe, Director of Tata Memorial Centre, said, “Tata Medical Centre has a track record of driving excellence in cancer care globally and aims to empower as many centres in India to drive the same vision of excellence in service, research and education.”
“I have been closely associated with Balco Medical Centre and have seen their zeal to give high-quality and evidence-based cancer treatment to all patients who come to seek treatment. This association will help us to collaborate with the experts from BMC for mutual exchange of knowledge and conduct cancer research jointly. Interactions such as these will also allow assessment of the viability of any new idea amongst experts in both the organizations,” Badwe said.
“When we started the BALCO Medical Centre 4 years ago, we set ourselves on a relentless mission of providing world-class and affordable cancer care to all by becoming the go-to cancer care provider in Central India. Now, with this MoU, I look forward to the next phase of our growth, wherein, together, we will learn more and find new ways to serve communities better,” Jyoti Agarwal, Chairperson of BALCO Medical Centre.
The TMC gets 80,000 new patients every year and 5,50,000 follow-ups. It operates nine cancer hospitals including the premiere Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.