By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In view of the fact that cancer is beginning to cause a major health concern in Meghalaya, the Roko Cancer Charitable Trust, Shillong, has been organizing regular cancer check-up camps for the welfare of the people.
As per statistics, Roko Cancer Charitable Trust, Shillong, conducted 87 check-up camps for breast cancer in 2010 and altogether 1043 patients were screened.
Though no positive cases were identified, yet 118 were diagnosed as high risk cases while the rest were normal cases.
In 2011, 168 patients were screened in 17 check-up camps in which 123 were found to normal cases while 45 were declared as high risk cases.
In 2012, 1444 patients were screened in 175 camps with 46 high rate cases being detected.
Informing media persons about its actions, Director of Roko Cancer Charitable Trust, Shillong, Geeta Sarin, said, “Our aim is to empower people to understand the Gravity of the disease and to fight it as cancer is curable if detected early.”
With regards to check-up for detection of cervical cancer, altogether 2023 people were examined in 2010 and no positive case was detected. However, in 2011 and 2012 as many as 11 and 6 cases respectively were found to be high risk ones.
According to Sarin, a new office was been launched in Tura in August, 2012 and 66 camps have been organised so far in Garo Hills region where 7384 patients were screened.
“We have a mobile unit, the first of its kind in North East, having an inbuilt Mammogram Machine and Processing Unit for screening Breast Cancer,” she said. With regards to Oral cancer, in the three years (2010-12) altogether 23935 patients were screened out of which 25 were positive cases while 160 were declared as high risk cases.
In its endeavour to reach out to people in the urban areas, a mega health camp was organized at Assam Club, Laban on Monday on the occasion of World Cancer Day targeting all the three types of cancer -Oral, Breast and Cervix.
Sarin also informed that the Trust not only screens patients for detection of cancer, but also follows up on the treatment provided in all cases of high risk and positive patients to help them towards the road to recovery.
Reacting to a query, she said that Oral Cancer and Cervix Cancer had higher prevalence in Meghalaya as compared to Breast Cancer.
The Trust also claimed to have saved over 400 lives which had been put in the high risk and positive categories of Oral, Breast and Cervix Cancer.