Workshop on early detection of childhood cancer

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 19

To ensure early detection and treatment of children affected with cancer in the state, a two-day training workshop on ‘Practical Paediatric Oncology’ culminated here at Advanced Cancer Institute, Bathinda, on Saturday.

Paediatricians from 10 districts of the state (private and government hospitals) were trained to ensure that children with cancer are diagnosed early so that timely treatment could be started.

The training workshop was organized by the Health Department in collaboration with Cankids, a national level non-government organization that renders services in 14 states and 50 cancer centres in the country.

The training workshop was conducted by 10 veteran doctors (10 sessions from 8.30 am till 5 pm) from renowned medical institutions in Delhi and Punjab and even a Hematology Oncologist from Albany Medical Centre, New York also addressed a session on ‘infection control’.

The medical experts trained the paediatricians on topics varying from approach to diagnostic of paediatric centre, principles of paediatric cancer, Leukemia/Lymphomas, Neck Lymph Nodes, Neurological symptoms in paediatric Oncology and Chemotherapy among others.

Paediatricians from Amritsar, Faridkot, Mansa, Sangrur, Moga, Fazillka, Mukatsar, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Bathinda attended the training workshop that will conclude on Saturday.

Shruti Kakkar, pediatric oncologist, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, said, “It is often observed that if there is a medical emergency or even cancer is diagnosed, paediatricians often develop a sense of fear owing to stigma attached to the disease and tend to refer cases without even administering first-aid or initial treatment to the child affected with cancer. And particularly in emergency situation by the time patient reach a designated cancer treatment facility, often it gets late. So at the workshop apart from training the paediatricians regarding various technical nuances of initial treatment for cancer, they were also counseled about the ‘shared care’ concept (initial treatment at health centre where the disease is detected before core-treatment at a designated cancer treatment facility).”