South India gets first Geriatric Oncology centre at VS Hospital, Chennai

Chennai: The city never fails to introduce advanced healthcare treatments to the patients in need and just like that the VS hospital has launched a new Geriatric Oncology centre. The centre is the first of its kind in South India.

Senior geriatrician Dr VS Natarajan came as a chief guest at the occasion. The centre will treat the cancer patients by joining hands with Dr Natarajan. Speaking at the occasion, Prof Dr S Subramanian, Senior Medical Oncologist, Founder Chairman and Managing Director, VS Group of Hospitals "It is a one-stop centre for older adults diagnosed with cancer and provides a comprehensive range of medical services to support them."

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Prof Dr Subramanian told Dariya news, "Our geriatric oncology centre is one of the first dedicated centres in India exclusively for geriatric cancer care set up with the mission to provide personalised care for older people who suffer from various forms of cancers. Our comprehensive geriatric assessment provides a detailed evaluation of medical, psychosocial, and functional problems in older patients with cancer. It can identify areas of vulnerability, predict toxicity and survival, assist in clinical decision-making, guide the development of individualised treatment plans, improve provider-patient communication and predict treatment completion."

Lakshmi Kanthan Bharathi IAS (R) and Prof Dr S Jagadesh Chandra Bose, HOD and Senior Consultant Surgical Oncologist, VS Hospitals, Prof Dr S Subramanian, Prof Dr S Sundar, Senior Consultant Joint Replacement & Tumour Surgeon and Medical Director, VS Group of Hospitals and Muthu Subramanian, Executive Director, VS Group of Hospitals were present.

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"According to a report of National Cancer Registry Programme 2020, India's cancer cases could increase by 12 per cent in the next five years, with 1.5 million people projected to suffer from the non-communicable disease by 2025. Sedentary lifestyles, increase in urban pollution, in addition to rising in obesity, tobacco and alcohol consumption are the reasons behind the rise," said Prof Dr Bose.

Dr Natarajan said "These patients are often frail, have comorbidities, are on multiple medications, and may have social, economic, and psychological problems. Many times, older patients with cancer are not considered for a curative treatment approach, despite the tumour being amenable to radical treatment, just by virtue of their age. When these patients are treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery, they may experience more toxicity and a higher chance of morbidity and mortality. Many of the landmark clinical trials have excluded geriatric oncology patients, making evidence-based management decisions in this patient population even more difficult."