A sixty-bed modern cancer ward is set to open at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital this month to provide better cancer treatment.
“The 60-bed facility would be named Turkish-Bangladesh Friendship Ward. The governments of Turkey and Bangladesh are funding setting up of the ward to make available world-class treatment facilities in the country,” Director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital Dr Uttam Kumar Barua told media on Monday.
The Turkish Co-Operation and Coordination Agency and the health ministry of Bangladesh are jointly working to establish the cancer ward, he said adding cancer patients would be given chemotherapy during daycare period.
“We are also taking initiatives to enhance efficiency of physicians to improve quality of treatment,” he said.
Associate Professor of Head of Cancer Epidemiology of National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) Dr Md Habibullah Talukder Ruskin said, “As many as 121,000 people are affected by cancer every year. Of them, 91000 die of cancer annually.”
Cancer treatment should be available at district level alongside introducing health insurance to bear the treatment cost, he added.
Dr Habibullah said, “Treatment facilities for cancer patients are only available in Dhaka, which are increasing cost and suffering of the patients. So, we have to take initiatives to reach cancer treatment facilities to the doorstep of the people.”
There are many easy screening methods to detect cancer disease, he said adding these methods should be used to prevent the disease.
Health experts said unhealthy lifestyle is largely responsible for a rapid rise in the number of cancer patients in the world as well as in Bangladesh, adding early detection of cancer can save lives of the people.
They stressed launching a massive campaign to create mass awareness among the people to prevent outbreak of cancer.
