Bhubaneswar, Feb. 06: With the quality of treatment improving and rise in awareness, cancer survival has doubled since the 1970s, eminent radiation oncologist, Prof. Bidhu K. Mohanti said on Saturday. “Most cancers are curable as all such conditions are not the same and people who are surviving for ten years or more after being affected by the condition has reached 50 per cent ,” he said while speaking at a cancer awareness program organized by the SOA University on the occasion of World Cancer Day. Prof. Mohanti said only five or six types of cancers were really dangerous. “But cancer is not a single disease, it is a big landscape,” he added. The expert, who served in AIIMS, New Delhi, for long years, said that 15 million new cancer patients were diagnosed in India every year with cancer of the lungs, breast, cervix, head and neck and stomach being the most common. Well-known cancer survivor and youtube activist Ruchi Gokhale also graced the program held at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital the global theme for which has been “We can. I can”. The day was observed in the hospital as “Celebration of Life”. A large number of cancer patients and survivors also attended and shared their experiences. Pointing out that cancer was a very old disease, Prof. Mohanti said Rudolf Virchow, the German physician and pathologist, was the first to correctly link the origin of cancers from otherwise normal cells in the 19th century. Prof. Mohanti, who himself was afflicted with the disease but continued to attend to patients while getting treated for the disease, said it was incumbent on the doctors and hospitals to provide the treatment that the patient could afford while good networking was needed between government and private institutions in fighting cancer.Stating that research conducted by him had revealed that 40 per cent of cancer survivors lived with pain while 20 per cent lost appetite or didn’t get sleep, he said age was the single most causative factor for the disease. He also emphasized on medical students being taught adequate communication skills saying it was of great importance in treating patients. “Communication plays a major role in treatment and every medical student should be taught this skill so that they become better doctors,” Prof. Mohanti said. Gokhale, who was diagnosed with cancer when she was 18 and in 12th grade in Mumbai, shared her experience and the way she battled the disease not once but twice as she got a relapse. “I had Hodgkin’s lymphoma and got cleared in 2012 after being subjected to chemotherapy and radiation. But was detected with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma subsequently,” she said adding she launched her own youtube channel to share her story and experience. “This helped me to connect with people and I wanted to create hope because it is contagious,” she said while telling the patients “don’t be afraid, fight it.”
Medical Director of IMS and SUM Hospital, Prof. D.K.Ray and Dean of the institute Prof. Gangadhar Sahu, the Medical Superintendent, Dr. Pushparaj Samantasinhar, the hospital’s Surgical Oncologist, Dr. Sunil Agrawala and Medical Oncologist Dr. Soumya Surath Panda were among those who addressed the gathering. It was a touching moment when Dr. Agrawala, the Organising Secretary for the program, led his colleagues and patients in singing “Aa chal ke tujhe main le ke chalun ek aisi gagan ke tale”, a famous Kishore Kumar number from the film “Door Gagan Ke Chhaon Main.”
