KARACHI, Oct 29: Although cancer cases are on the rise, there are no fully equipped "specialized cancer surgery units" across the country. Inadequacies on the part of policy-makers to realize the changing disease patterns in the country and the urgency to ensure prevention and effective treatment-cum-cure interventions has led to scores of local patients visiting the Tata Institute of Cancer, Mumbai round the year.

Such cases could be effectively addressed through timely and proper handling, including relevant surgical procedures within the country. Although some institutes are found to be offering radiation and other treatment facilities, but what is needed is the popularization of state-of-the-art surgical procedures.

The ENT departments in public sector hospitals, including Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre and Civil Hospital at Karachi, where patients report on a daily basis in most horrendous condition subsequent to oral cancer, larynx cancer and throat cancer, are reportedly devoid of updated surgical gadgets though there is no dearth of expertise and proficiency.

The concerned surgeons often find themselves extremely helpless due to non-availability of exceptionally pertinent laser machine. The gadget known as "diode" which does not cost more than Rs2 million to Rs2.5 million is neither available at JPMC, nor at the CHK, though it is extremely useful in administering procedures, particularly among kids, as well as adults inflicted with larynx cancer.

The two hospitals happen to be the public sector health care facility catering to patients from across the country but mainly from Sindh and Balochistan. Provision for diode is largely beneficial for children and old as it is painless, with minimum blood loss.

In the backdrop of the fact that 40 to 50 per cent of the patients visiting the two ENT departments happen to be those suffering mainly from oral cancer followed by larynx and other related parts up to neck, the two units also need to have other important and essential gadgets as striker saw and dermatone required for bone and skin grafting respectively, besides availability of plates to fill in the gaps between bones.

Sources regretted that such requirements when forwarded to concerned authorities are often rejected under the notion as superfluous accessories which may not necessarily be required to improve the quality of medical support.

This, they say, could be countered through constitution of a board, comprising senior professors and experienced staffers, in each of the tertiary-care hospitals across the country where each department and unit be asked to submit a list of its requirement for all four quarters of each fiscal years in accordance with their priorities and urgency of need.

"We ought to have proper planning," a senior professor said, mentioning that most of the government hospitals even lack stand-by generators of high capacity. These units also lack some other essential needs, and there is a shortage of adequately trained paramedics and nurses who are unable to provide quality health care which each and every patient deserves.

Lack of accountability and acute dearth of lower staffers in most of the hospitals has also emerged as a major threat to patients admitted to varied wards in post-operative status due to possibility of infections.

While seeking transparency, professionals also suggested short-term training sessions for young surgeons on a regular basis, coupled with the availability of needed infrastructure which could help the country have state-of-art facility needed by the people pertaining to all segments.

What makes the scenario all the more grim is the fact that patients with the tendency to report in extremely late stages of their disease, with severe complications, often approach general surgeons and not ENT surgeons which further deteriorates their condition.

Poor understanding on the part of general surgeons has led to cases related to breast cancers as well as oral and larynx cancers extremely difficult to be handled by relevant experts trained in the particular discipline of ENT surgery or oncological surgery.

This also calls for regular sessions for surgeons and doctors and other health care professionals regarding their ethical responsibilities towards patients. Breast cancers among women and oral cancers among kids and adults of both genders is assuming alarming proportions due to absolute indifference towards preventive aspect of the disease.

Despite repeated appeals and demands on part of professionals bodies as PMA consistent intake of tobacco, pan, gutka, sweetened betel-nuts is rampant across the country while no comprehensive approach has been adopted till date to address the situation or at-least imposing restrictions on advertisements and other marketing tactics adopted by manufacturers and retailers. -APP