Highest number of cancer patients from EP

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

The highest number of cancer patients are being reported from the Eastern Province, especially from Batticaloa. The reason for this is still unknown. Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena ordered health authorities to conduct a full study soon to find out the reason, a Health Ministry spokesman W.M.D. Vanninayake said.

According to Vanninayake, annually around 15,000 new cancer patients detected from Sri Lanka. Out of this number 1,000 women detected with cervical cancer and 500 of them die. Around 25 per cent of the total number of cancer patients detected annually suffer from breast cancer and 30 per cent of them die due to late detection. Early detection can be saved 33 per cent (5,000 patients) who suffer from breast cancer.

The government spends annually Rs. 3,500 million only for the drugs used to treat the cancer patients. Some drugs cost Rs. 300,000. Some other drugs and injections cost around Rs. 100,000. Daily around 5000 patients visit Maharagama Cancer treatment Institute. At present cancer patients live in the Eastern Province need to travel to Badulla, Kandy or Colombo to obtain treatment. But once the Oncology Unit set up they can obtain the same treatment from Batticaloa Teaching Hospital, he said.

A new Oncology Unit with modern medical equipment will be opened at Batticaloa Teaching Hospital soon.

A new building complex is now being constructed at a cost of Rs. 200 million. A Linera Accelerator will be installed at Batticaloa Teaching Hospital at a cost of Rs. 1,500 million instead of the Cobolt machine which sometimes cause negative impact on the doctors who treat cancer patients, he added.