Regional Cancer Centre chief wants better care for Early Cancer Detection Centre

KOCHI: Even as uncertainty looms over the Early Cancer Detection Centre (ECDC) at Kaloor, Regional Cancer Centre director Dr Paul Sebastian has said that the RCC was only happy to entrust the running of the institution with the fledgling Kochi Cancer Research Centre. “It is a good idea but the State Government has to take a decision on that,” Dr Paul Sebastian told DC. Currently RCC is running the ECDC. Set up  on August 15, 1984, the ECDC has 10 staff members. About 50 patients approach the centre everyday, the staff said.

“There are varied kinds of cancer detecting facilities available at the centre such as pap smear test for detecting cervical cancer, Fine-needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) test for detecting cancerous and non-cancerous swellings in various parts of the body like breast and thyroid, cytology screening test on body fluids and sputums for identifying cancers and scrape smear test for detecting cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions of oral cavity,”  says Dr Latha A, medical officer and cytopathologist at ECDC.

“A total of 6,700 patients approached ECDC in 2015-16 while nearly 16,000 attended cancer detection camps held by ECDC and of them 1,100 persons were in pre-cancerous stage while 340 persons were detected with cancer. Under the auspices of the centre, 52 cancer awareness classes were held in Ernakulam and adjoining districts,” she said. On every third Saturday of the month specialized doctors from Regional Cancer Centre conduct a follow up clinic for which over 850 patients attended in 2015-16.

“The main grievance of the patients and the staff is the proximity of the cancer centre to a slaughter house from where waste flows even to the ECDC compound. This has to be ended,” said Dr Paul Sebastian adding Kochi Corporation has to take interest to come up with a good building to maintain the centre. According to Dr Latha in the past 10 years, 1,50,000 patients were screened by the mobile cancer detection unit of the ECDC. “If Imageological services, XRay units, pain and palliative clinic and day chemotherapy units are made available at ECDC, it would do good for the weaker sections,” said Dr Latha.