Panelists : L-R Dr Sandra Albert ( Director , IIPH Shillong ), Dr Preet Dhillon ( Epidemiologist , PHFI , New Delhi ), Dr Caleb Harris ( Surgical Oncologist at NEIGRIHMS- Shillong ), Ms Patricia Mukhim ( editor of Shillong Times ), Dr Judita Syiemlieh ( Oncologist at Civil Hospital Shillong ), Prof ( Dr ) P Bhattacharya ( Head , Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at NEIGRIHMS , Shillong )
therapies . He informed the audience that at NEIGRIHMS , they have created a multidisciplinary team of cancer surgeons , radiologist , palliative care professionals , pathologist who discuss and decide the best possible treatment for different cancer cases that come to the hospital .
Dr Bhattacharya , who was instrumental in starting the first palliative care centre in Meghalaya NEIGRIHMS , stressed on the importance of emotional support for cancer patients . He was of the opinion that failure to cure cancer does not equal complete failure of the treatment and cancer treatment should always be accompanied by palliative care for the patient .
Editor of the Shillong Times , Ms Patricia Mukhim , encouraged the audience , especially the younger health professionals and scientists , to write more about health for popular media . She called for more comprehensible science writing related to cancer and other diseases to be made available to the media .
The event was attended by primarily young audience comprising of doctors , academics , patients , students of social work , nursing , counselling and psychology and allied health , members of NGOs and the general public . The questions asked by the audience were on topics such as , information on cancer risk factors , cancer data collection methodologies , cancer screening and treatment , reasons behind high cancer rates in Khasi Hills and lack of seriousness about cancer prevention , effectiveness of cancer awareness programmes , family support for cancer patients , exposure to toxic radioactive substances and many others . Some serious issues were raised through this discussion concerning cancer awareness in the North East India , and tangible and useful solutions were offered by the panelists . IIPH Director , Dr Sandra Albert also announced that many such public programmes will be held in Shillong in the coming future .
In addition to the discussion , informational material on cancer was available for the attendees . Members of the Palliative Care centre at NEIGRIHMS had set up a stall through which they shared information on the services provided by them . This event is being expected hopefully to act as a springboard for other public awareness programmes on cancer and other health issues in the North East .
BIOVOICENEWS . COM 23