Gurdaspur hospital ties up with Tata cancer institute

Ravi Dhaliwal

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Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, April 30

The Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), run by the Department of Atomic Energy, has tied up with the Gurdaspur Civil Hospital for the detection and treatment of cancer in the region. Experts say there has been an increase in the incidence of the disease in the area.

A three-member team from the TMH, Mumbai, comprising Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Head of Department (HoD), Surgery, Dr Sharmila Pimple, HoD, Preventive Oncology, and Dr T Anguman, a senior representative of the TMH, arrived in the city today to take stock of the situation.

The team held a series of meetings with Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha, Civil Surgeon Dr Rajneesh Sood and all Senior Medical Officers (SMOs) of the district.

Rajya Sabha Member Parliament (MP) Ashwani Kumar has offered money from his Member Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund for the upgrade of infrastructure in the civil hospital.

“I will allocate money from my MPLAD fund for the project. I have tabled a report in Rajya Sabha outlining the causes of the spread of cancer in the region,” he said.

He said the report was prepared under his guidance by a 31-member committee. The report focusses on the carcinogenic content of water in Gurdaspur and its adjoining districts.

Dr Chaturvedi said senior medical officers of the civil hospital would regularly visit the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai to enhance their skills. He said the doctors from Mumbai would help the local administration in identifying the equipment needed for the prevention and treatment of the disease at the local civil hospital.

Dr Sharmila Pimple said, “Preventive Oncology plays a major role in the early diagnosis, screening and down staging of cancer.”

She said the Department of Preventive Oncology of the Tata Memorial Hospital was commissioned in the year 1993 which focussed on cancer prevention and screening. The emphasis on early detection would go a long way in dealing with the large number of cancer cases in this part of Punjab.