Kokilaben Hospital to set up 18 cancer care centres in Maha

In a major step forward for oncology treatment in Maharashtra, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) today announced that it will establish 18 cancer care centres across the hinterland of the state.
"We will establish 18 cancer care centres across the hinterland of the state. This was accompanied by the launch of the Edge radiosurgery system-a first-of-its-kind treatment in South Asia to offer a precise, non-invasive alternative to conventional cancer surgery," a statement issued here said.
KDAH rolled out comprehensive cancer care programme across the 18 cancer centres in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here today.
KDAH has made a significant commitment to cancer care by signing to acquire 18 advanced TrueBeam medical linear accelerators to equip the new cancer centres in the state.

The first of these centres are expected in Akola, Gondia and Solapur to be operational in 2017. The rest of the rollout is aimed to be completed in the next couple of years.
Focused on advancing healthcare technologies and medical excellence to facilitate healthcare access in India, Tina Ambani, Chairperson, KDAH said, "The launch of Edge and the announcement of 18 cancer centres across the state not only represents a significant milestone in our journey but reaffirms KDAH's endeavour to make international innovations available and accessible to all Indians."

Highlighting the benefits of Edge radiosurgery, Dr Kaustav Talapatra, Head - Radiation Oncology, Kokilaben Hospital, said, "This non-invasive technique uses a GPS- enabled tracking device that helps the radiologist constantly track the movement of affected cells even as the treatment is being delivered, which allows for treatment at affected areas with a high degree of accuracy.

This precision radiation provides huge advantages in term of convenience, cost and comfort for patients as the number of sessions reduces significantly, with no incision or hospital stay, thereby, enabling them to return to their normal lives within 15-30 minutes or less, Talapatra said.
According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 1.25 million new cancer patients reported each year in India.
There are only a few comprehensive cancer centres in the country, a majority of which are situated in metropolitan areas.