Kolkata, 4th January 2024: With more than 1300 Indians dying every day due to cancer, cancer is proliferating at an alarming rate in India. ICMR forecasted a 12% growth in India’s cancer cases within the next 5 years which means that in the absence of proper interventions, it would only be a matter of time before we become the world’s cancer capital. The projected 5 most common cancers for males (lung, mouth, prostate, tongue, and stomach) constitute 36% and for females (breast, cervix uteri, ovary, corpus uteri, and lung) constitute 53%, of all cancers in India.
The trend in West Bengal is also similar and there has been a significant rise in the number of cancer cases over the past few years. Presently, in West Bengal more than 100,000 new cancer cases are detected annually. Breast, lung, cervical, prostate and oral cancers are the most common cancers seen in West Bengal. Most of the cancer treatment facilities are concentrated in the city of Kolkata and hence there is a need to make cancer care accessible to the patients of sub-urban and district towns.
With an objective to provide world class and affordable cancer treatment to the people of West Bengal, leading purpose-driven technology-led oncology platform Karkinos Healthcare announces the launch of a state-of-the-art Cancer Hospital ‘Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute’ at Kamarhati, BT Road, Kolkata.
Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute is a comprehensive cancer hospital with all facilities under one roof like Advanced cancer diagnostics, Precision oncology, Surgical oncology, Radiation oncology, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, Cancer screenings for an early diagnosis. Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute is a 50 bedded hospital with fully equipped ICU and OT for handling complicated cancer surgeries backed by an in-house team of experienced Oncologists, Onco-Pathologists, Technologists, and International Board of Advisors. The Hospital is empanelled with Swasthya Sathi Health Scheme. The cancer centre will also provide seamless patient nagivation through its Command Centre and Karemitra team offering guidance in local language to each patient throughout their journey from diagnosis, treatment to wellness.
With a team of experienced consultants, cutting-edge treatment methods and high-end technology support, the Centre will provide some of the latest and advanced practices in Oncology including precision oncology, molecular diagnostics with next gen sequencing and access to multi-disciplinary tumour boards (including virtual tumour board) meeting global standards of cancer care.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Akhter Jawade, Director East, Karkinos Healthcare said, “Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute is a one-stop solution for advanced and affordable cancer care services in Kolkata’s Kamarhati, which also comes under North 24 Parganas District. If we talk about cancer cases, 1 out of every 9 people are likely develop cancer in their lifetime. With technology-driven, world-class facilities and team of best doctors, Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute will help thousands of patients to get the best and affordable cancer treatment near to their home. Our Centre will not only offer the very best of services but will also save valuable time for patients coming from districts of the state like North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly, etc for cancer treatment.”
Dr. Moni Abraham Kuriakose – Co-Founder, Medical Director and CEO (Kerala), Karkinos Healthcare, said, “Cancer, as we know, has 4 stages – in situ, early stage, locoregional, and distant metastasis. In India, 70% of cancer cases are detected in the last two stages. This has 2 implications: higher rates of mortality (since treatment is less effective at later stages) and prohibitively expensive (as much as 3 times) in the last two stages. The lack of awareness around cancer and limited availability of quality treatment options, contribute to high mortality rate of cancer. Our major focus is to provide world class but affordable and accessible cancer treatment to the people living in different parts of the country. To address the problem of rising cancer cases in the region and integrating with the advanced and state of the art infrastructure along with clinical expertise and high-end technology support, we, at Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute, aim to provide the people of Kolkata and neighbouring districts a comprehensive cancer care solution.”
The Centre will also have doctors of different disciplines like Cardiology, Pulmonology, Neurology, Nephrology, Internal Medicine and Surgery for providing supportive care to the patients. There would be a separate department of Women’s Wellness and Genomics along with the facilities of Bio Banking.
For the convenience of the patients:
• The OPD is available from 9AM to 9PM to enable those patients/relatives who do not want to miss their work.
• The Day Care would be open in two shifts for the convenience of the patients and relatives.
• The OPD and Day Care would be open on Sundays from 9AM to 2PM for some patients who want to be with their parents during treatment and yet not miss their work.
Medella Karkinos Oncology Institute is located at 87F, BT Road, Kamarhati, Agarpara, Kolkata 700058.
About Karkinos Healthcare: Karkinos Healthcare is a purpose driven technology based oncology health care platform for early detection and diagnosis of common cancers. The organisation espouses use of a distributed cancer care network, while working with network of healthcare institutions and domain experts within the ecosystem, with an aim to provide comprehensive cancer care closer to individuals’ home.
Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Mayo Clinic, and Rakuten Medical Inc. are among the world’s leading organizations that have invested in Karkinos Healthcare. The company has also partnered with Tata Memorial Hospital, Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust (UK), and has inked several research collaborations with leading academic institutions in the United States to stay on the cutting edge of oncology treatment and care.