Euromedical Family Clinic hosts free cancer clinic |28 January 2020

Dr Subash (left) and Dr Kalyan

MIOT International Hospital, Chennai, India, in association with Euromedical Family Clinic, is conducting one of its kind free cancer consultation camps at the latter’s clinic at Eden Plaza.

The 160 patients, including children, who signed up for the four-day camp, have as of yesterday benefitted from the expertise of two of the most sought-after oncologists in India, Dr Chezhian Subash and Dr Suman Kalyan, visiting consultants from MIOT International Hospital.

The adult and paediatric A to Z Cancer Camp is an opportunity for the consultants to see and follow up on old cancer patients they have been treating at MIOT International, people who have concern for cancer and also to detect new cancer cases.

This is the third A to Z Cancer Camp done by MIOT International Hospital in Seychelles and Dr Kalyan said that last year, they detected five new cases, including one child, among the 170 patients who took part in the camp, which also included family members of cancer patients.

He noted that three children are actually being treated for cancer at MIOT Hospital.

“Among some of the cancer cases, 20% of them run in the families. So anybody who has a close relative with cancer can come and get diagnosed for the disease,” Dr Kalyan said, highlighting that the camp is being done in good gesture, based on the long standing working relations with the Ministry of Health which has been going on for the past fifteen years.

This also helps the ministry to spend less than if it has to send patients overseas for treatment, consultations or medical opinions.

Dr Subash said that if someone is detected with signs of cancer, the patient is recommended for further testing locally before being recommended for treatment through surgery or chemotherapy which can be done locally in addition to radiotherapy which is not available here but can be done at MIOT International.

“Many of them get treated. Between 90% to 93% get treated here. Only a small percentage of people go to Chennai for specialised care like Positron Emission Tomography (PET) which is not allowed in island nations because of the radiation and radiotherapy,” Dr Subash said, noting that for peculiar reasons, we have a really big burden of cancers for such a small population.

Both doctors call on the population to be more aware of cancer and to make annual cancer tests while changing our way of life in terms of avoiding stress, junk food and alcohol among other unhealthy life style habits.

The A to Z Cancer Camp runs from 9am to 3.30pm and it will end on Thursday this week.

Patrick Joubert