Purbanchal Cancer Hospital branch in Birtamod

Bishnu Nepal
The Purbanchal Cancer Hospital, the largest cancer hospital of the country, has started its services. The hospital has brought the Truebeam Linear Accelerator Radiation Treatment machine, an ultramodern machine for cancer treatment, into use. It is said this new generation machine manufactured in the US is used by the best renowned hospitals in the world.

“The latest generation radiation applying machine is the same whichever country you go,” said Dr Birendra Yadav, an oncologist at the hospital. He had been working at the Medanta Hospital in India until recently but returned home with the motivation to work in own country. He was involved in the campaign of building a well-equipped cancer hospital in the eastern region.

The hospital has formally started its services from Wednesday. On the first day of the inauguration of the service, 27 patients had registered their names for therapy. Purbanchal Cancer Hospital is operating from a building inside the premises of the B&C Hospital.

It is said with Purbanchal Cancer Hospital starting its services, the situation of patients having to go to India for diagnosis and treatment of cancer has come to an end.

The goal is to upgrade the hospital from the present 100 bed capacity to a 300 bed capacity health facility and promote Jhapa as the medical hub, said Durga Prasai, the Hospital’s executive director.
Of the patients receiving treatment in Medanta and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital in India, Nepali patients are said to account for the third highest number in recent years. There is no exact data on how many Nepalis go to these two hospitals for treatment.

According to the Jhapa Public Health Office, last year 400 cancer patients had sought its recommendation to go abroad for treatment. The World Health Organization’s projection shows that annually more than 15,000 people in Nepal die of various types of cancer. Only 30 percent of the patients survive through treatment after being diagnosed of cancer and 70 percent succumbed untimely to cancer.