High-tech cancer care at MNJ Cancer Hospital

To ensure early diagnosis of cancers, the MNJ Cancer Hospital is conducting mobile screening in districts and those needing treatment are referred to MNJ from the districts.

Hyderabad: Towards ensuring high-end cancer care treatment facilities are available free of cost to poor patients in Telangana, the cancer specialists at State-run MNJ Cancer Hospital have conducted a total of 30 Bone Marrow Transplants (BMTs) with a success rate of over 90 per cent.

Bone marrow transplants cost nearly Rs 25 lakh in private hospitals. However, such high-end procedures for needy cancer patients are being provided free of cost at MNJ Cancer Hospital, and very soon at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS).

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Health Minister, T Harish Rao, during inauguration of Rs 32 crore worth of high-tech robotic surgical system at MNJ Cancer Hospital on Monday, said that MNJ Cancer Hospital and NIMS will be the tertiary care facilities providing super-specialty medical services for poor cancer patients free of cost.

“Here, we will offer specialty cancer care like BMTs, which are prohibitively expensive in private hospitals, and the robotic surgical systems will enable surgeons to get faster and better results,” he said.

Before statehood, the MNJ Cancer Hospital had only three Operation Theatres (OTs), which were 60 year-old. “The then governments did not give a thought on upgrading infrastructure and in contrast, so far towards cancer care, the Telangana government has incurred an expenditure of Rs 900 crore,” Harish Rao said.

In the last few years, the State government procured and established air-purification equipment, ventilation and central AC systems, constructed six modular OTs and collaborated with voluntary organisations to build a 350-bedded new block.

Some of the other cancer diagnostics tests that are expensive in private healthcare facilities but available for free at MNJ include new radiation equipment, linac (linear accelerator), PET CT scan, modular OTs and now robotic systems.

To ensure early diagnosis of cancers, the MNJ Cancer Hospital is conducting mobile screening in districts and those needing treatment are referred to MNJ from the districts.

Through Arogya Mahila initiative, a total of 2.22 lakh women have been screened for various cancers in 272 health camps and those needing an early intervention are being referred to MNJ from districts.