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| Shock: Valley tops India in lung cancer | | |
ET REPORTER
Jammu, July 22: In a shocking revelation, a study has disclosed that Kashmir tops the country in cases of the dreaded lung cancer.
A conference on genomic instability and cancer that got underway in Srinagar today is laying a major thrust on dealing with the growing number of cancer cases across the state. The conference which deliberated upon the cancer prevalence has made shocking revelations that cancer is on rise in Jammu and Kashmir and more cases are being reported from the Valley.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who delivered the inaugural address at the conference, said that cancer diagnostic and treatment expertise was in the process of continuous development and referred to the recently set up Regional Cancer Centre at SKIMS in Srinagar where integrated cancer care was available to facilitate management of cancer patients in the State.
Pointing towards the cancer scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister said it was a matter of serious concern that incidence of the disease was on the increase. He said medical studies showed that cancers of stomach, food pipe, ovary and breasts showed increased incidence in Kashmir. In addition, he said, leukemia or blood cancer was also quite common. He said the profile of cancer had changed with recent study putting the Valley at top in the country in lung cancer incidence. He said he was told that at SKIMS 200-300 lung cancer patients report every year for treatment.
Earlier calling upon the medical community to advise the government on how to invest resources for making better healthcare available to people, Chief Minister highlighted the need for reducing the rich-poor gap in terms of access to treatment of diseases like cancer. He also emphasised the urgency for greater research and awareness to combat life threatening ailments.
The Chief Minister spoke about the priorities of his government in which, he said, up-gradation of healthcare facilities across the state received focused attention. He said full fledged departments of Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology were also functional at the Institute while the Department of Clinical Haematology took care of leukaemia patients. He said Oncology unit at Government Medical College , Srinagar was being up-graded with central assistance of Rs. 10 crore. In district hospitals also, he said, diagnostic facilities would be developed to facilitate early detection of cancer and its timely treatment. He said apart from opening new healthcare institutions at village level, district and state hospitals were in the process of infrastructure up-gradation and equipment modernization. He said central government was providing liberal assistance to improve healthcare scenario in Jammu & Kashmir and much headway had been made in this area. He referred to the Rs. 120 crore each central funding for the two government medical colleges in Kashmir and Jammu to upgrade these to the AIIMS level. Earlier this month, he said, the union health minister announced Rs. 50 crore each for up-gradation of Lal Ded Maternity Hospital , Srinagar and SMGS Hospital, Jammu .
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