Srinagar, Dec 06 (KNO): Hundreds of patients from south Kashmir in need of radiotherapy are suffering due to the absence of radiotherapy facilities at Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag.
Poor attendants are facing challenges in transporting their patients daily to SKIMS Soura or SMHS for radiotherapy.
Relatives of a 55-year-old cancer patient from DH Pora Kulgam told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that their patient has undergone multiple chemotherapy sessions; however, he now requires radiotherapy.
“Due to the lack of radiotherapy facilities at GMC, we have to take him for regular radiotherapy for about four weeks,” they said, adding that it is not easy to transport the patient to Soura from Kulgam daily, as they belong to a financially weak family.
“If these facilities were available at GMC Anantnag, it would have been more convenient, less expensive, and less arduous for us,” they added.
Other patients and attendants who are forced to go to Srinagar for radiotherapy echoed the same concern, saying that the number of cancer patients is increasing at an alarming rate, and such facilities should have been available at GMC Anantnag.
Doctors said that despite having the necessary manpower, the department lacks Tele-cobalt and Linear Accelerator (LINAC) machines, causing patients requiring radiotherapy to suffer.
They said that it becomes challenging for poor patients to travel from far-off places to Srinagar for radiotherapy, where such facilities are already overcrowded.
Patients and attendants have requested higher-ups to address the matter and make these facilities available at GMC Anantnag so that poor patients won't suffer any longer.
According to doctors, there are over 1000 cancer patients registered at the hospital, with around 60-70 percent of them needing radiotherapy at some stage, which is currently unavailable in south Kashmir.
“There is an immediate need to establish a regional cancer centre at the hospital with all necessary facilities to cater to patients from south Kashmir and other areas,” they said—(KNO)