HCG to partner FG, private sector on cancer management

Cancer is a global issue and is rapidly becoming a major health problem in developed and developing countries. However, with research on newer techniques in cancer management, which is now providing hope and new arenas to patients seeking cure, cancer hospitals and centres in India have become a medical hub for patients across the globe, including Nigeria.

This is why Nigerian patients prefer travelling to India for their healthcare needs. Interestingly, waiting lists for surgery get longer as people increasingly seek specialised and personal medical attention abroad.

Hence, in a bid to reduce the growing incidence of Nigerians travelling to India for the treatment of cancer, the HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd (HCG), South Asia's largest cancer care network, is set to partner the Federal Government and the private sector through developing innovative treatment methods, tailored at providing high quality, affordable and comprehensive cancer care to all segments of the society.

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos recently, Dinesh Madhavan, director of marketing, HCG, revealed that cancer is a leading cause of death even as more than 70 percent of all cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Madhavan stated that recent indications suggest that cancer, globally, are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 12 million deaths in 2030. He pointed out that the most frequent types of cancer globally are cancer of the lungs, stomach, liver, colorectal, oesophagus and prostate with cancer of the breast and cervix.

In his words: “In Nigeria, cancer of the cervix and breast as well as cancer of the prostrate are the most common forms of cancer we in HCG treat in India. Lots of Nigerians who come for treatment in India come with advanced stages of cancer. HCG has contributed significantly to establish high quality Cancer Care centres in India. We (HCG) have our presence at Kampala, in Uganda and in Tanzania. We have partnered with the government in these countries to do extensive research and develop innovative treatment methods to provide the finest cancer care in a bid to make cancer a manageable health condition and improve the quality of life of patients.

“Our plan to partner with the government in Nigeria and the private sector is aimed at training the capacity of Nigerian oncologists in the area of cancer care and management. We are committed to creating an environment that fosters the professional and personal achievements of each person who crosses the threshold of our centre. And by sharing these achievements across the network, the achievements of each centre, each physician, and each hospital are further heightened. HCG has been defining the future of cancer care in India by designing, building and managing cancer centres with a steadfast vision. This we want to replicate in the country and improve the lives of the Nigerians,” Madhavan concluded.

Explaining a recent technology deployed for the treatment of cancer, Susheela Sridhar, Consultant Radiation Oncologist, HCG, revealed that Cyberknife is the world's first non-invasive whole body robotic radiosurgery system. Sridhar disclosed that CyberKnife offers patients new hope for the treatment of tumours and lesions, including ones that previously have been diagnosed as untreatable with the existing technology.

“CyberKnife uses state-of-the-art real-time image guidance to precisely target tumours anywhere in the body with pinpoint accuracy and delivers high doses of radiation. Some forms of radiosurgery require rigid head-frames that are screwed into the patient’s skull to minimise any movement. The CyberKnife System does not require such extreme procedures to keep patients in place, and instead, relies on sophisticated tracking software, allowing for a much more comfortable and non-invasive treatment,” Sridhar stated.

He added that unlike some radiosurgery systems, which can only treat tumours in the head, the CyberKnife System has unlimited reach to treat a broad range of tumours throughout the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas, and kidney.

“The CyberKnife System can essentially ‘paint’ the tumour with radiation allowing it to precisely deliver treatment to the tumour alone, sparing surrounding healthy tissue. It is non-invasive and pain-less, treat inoperable tumours, significantly reduces treatment time to about 45-60 minutes, minimises side effects with little or no recovery time,” the consultant radiation oncologist concluded.

Taking a look at cancer management in Nigeria, it is worrisome to state that not all hospitals operate screening programmes for cervical cancer; they are poorly funded, unsystematic, and incomprehensive. However, problems of impeded access to health care, ignorance, poverty and a general lack of coordination of issues of health education complicate matters.

Though there are no definite figures, the number of active radiotherapy centres across the country is few. Worse still, Imaging facilities for staging patients with cancer, such as computerised tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), are difficult to come by, and when available, the cost of such studies are prohibitive – putting them out of reach of the average citizen.

Giving this initiative by HCG to develop experts in the management and care of
Nigerians suffering from this disease, it is believed that Nigerian clinicians would be at the winning side as would avail themselves of the latest technology deployed in the treatment of people with cancers and tumours.

For Wale Alabi, CEO, Global Resources and Project, “Factors likely to change the pattern and prevalence of cancer in Nigeria in the coming decades include- greater awareness of cancer and improved access to health care. In large parts of Africa, surgery and chemotherapy are usually reserved for those rich enough to seek specialised care abroad. In addition, diagnosis no longer has to be a death sentence, because one-third of cancers can be cured if detected early and treated properly.

“Admittedly, there is increasing awareness of modern palliative care and pain management in Nigeria, but we still need to build the capacity of our physicians which would in the long run improve medical tourism in the country.”