Government Doon Medical College gets Oncology Unit

Dehradun: The Government Doon Medical College Hospital (GDMC) in an effort to provide better treatment for cancer will start an oncology unit soon.Chemotherapy experts will also be provided by the hospital. With the introduction of the oncology unit, GDMC will become the first government healthcare facility in the state to provide tumour surgery and chemotherapy to those ailing with cancer.

"To start with, we have hired an oncology surgeon and soon experts will be hired for the chemotherapy unit. We will try to provide better facilities for treatment of cancer patients as the disease has become a threat to the hill state due to excess tobacco consumption in the hills," said Dr.KK Tamta, Medical Superintendent, Doon.

The job of the oncologists would not only entail performing regular outpatient duty but also involve gathering data related to cancer patients, reports TOI.

The TOI had earlier reported that the Health Department has yet to notify hospitals about informing it about identification of cancer patients.

The ride for cancer patients is getting to be tough in Uttarakhand in the absence of treatment facilities for the disease. Patients are often referred to Delhi or Chandigarh for treatment.

Welcoming the state's move to initiate an oncology unit at the hospital, a patients wife said "This is heart warming news. Cancer cases are on the rise and the health department needs to have a strategy to fight the disease."