JOIN USKidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO), where 500 new cases of childhood cancer are recorded annually, will now have additional beds in the paediatric ward.
The paediatric ward that had 60 beds will now have 40 more at Kapoor’s ward on the first floor. The additional facility that has been provided by the State Bank of Mysore at a cost of Rs 1.56 crore was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramiah on Tuesday.
As many as 500 new cases of childhood cancer are recorded annually at the Kidwai institute. Of this, 46 per cent are leukemia, 15 per cent brain tumors, 11 per cent lymphomas and about six percent Wilms tumours. Even as geographical variation is observed, cancer registries indicate that the incidence of cancer is higher in boys than in girls. The incidence of retinoblastoma is higher in the country, KMIO said.
Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil requested the chief minister to provide additional facilities to KMIO. Stating that the patient load was high in the hospital, he said there was a need for additional staff. Besides, he also sought additional facilities such as retirements for robotic surgery and radiology to ensure tick treatment here was on a par with that offered in private hospitals.
“The formal procedures that ought to be completed to have Kidwai as the regional cancer care centre is almost complete. The Centre will sanction its 75 per cent share. The State will provide the rest,” he added.
Siddaramaiah promised to financially support the hospital. “There is a need to conduct research about the possible preventive measures for bringing down cancer cases,” he said.
Dr Vijaykumar, Director, KMIO, said the institute that began with 50 beds, now has over 600. “Each year, the hospital sees about 20,000 new patients and over two lakh follow-up cases. With just five radiotherapy machines, the staff has been working in three shifts for the benefit of patients. It would be great if the State can support us with at least three more,” he added.
Sharat Sharma, Managing Director, State Bank of Mysore, said that according to an independent survey conducted by a Pune-based institute, the customer confidence level on the bank was 91 per cent in Mysuru and 76 per cent in Bengaluru.
DH News Service