Eminent principal consultant, Gynae Oncology, Dr Kanika Gupta, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi, today expressed the hope that the day is not far off when Jharkhand could soon become the first cervical cancer free State in the country.
Winding up her two-day visit to Koderma and Ranchi on November 3 and 4, respectively, where she trained gynaecologists of eight districts of Jharkhand over two mega Women's Health Camps cum Free Cervical Cancer Detection camps, Dr Gupta said, “I am overwhelmed at the inroads made by Dr. Bharti Kashyap, Chairperson, Women Doctors' Wing, Indian Medical Association, Jharkhand Chapter and the massive support extended by the state government and other agencies in ensuring high tech health care delivery at the doorsteps of the people particularly in the far flung and rural areas to ensure better health of women.”
“Treatment of Cervical Cancer at Delhi costs around Rs 3.5 lakhs to Rs 5 Lakhs, by rough estimates. Equipping all state run health care centres with Colposcope and Cryo Machines would go a long way in ensuring better and health lives for the women in Jharkhand, particularly rural women,” Dr. Gupta suggested.
Achieving the goal of a Cervical Cancer Free State will take some time, Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi conceded.
However, he said that a big beginning has already been made in Jharkhand, under the aegis of Women Doctors' Wing with the State government equipping Sadar Hospitals at Santhal Pargana and Palamau districts with Colposcope and Cryo Machines.
Further impetus was granted by the donation of a Colposcope and Cryo Machine to the Koderma Sadar Hospital by Dr. Ravindra Rai on November 3 and another donation of a digital Colposcope and Cryo Machine being made today, by Dr. Bharti Kashyap, eminent ophthalmologist and chairperson, Women's Doctors Wing, IMA, Jharkhand, to the Sadar Hospital at Ranchi, he added.
Talking to newsmen after donating a digital Colposcope and Cryo Machine to Ranchi Sadar Hospital, today, Dr. Bharti Kashyap, said, “In Jharkhand, we are pursuing an important dream of making women's lives, more healthy lives. Early marriages, lack of information of basic health practices, hygiene, unsafe sex, unequal social standing increases health risks for women, particularly rural women. Through these many Mega Women's Health Camps, Free Cervical Cancer Detection and Anemia Detection Camps, we are educating women on how a female body works, the need to maintain good health and personal hygiene, so that women can take better control of their own lives".
Dr. Kashyap said that they were in the process of creating a pool of trained manpower to enable the State health department to attain its goal of a cervical cancer free state, within a fixed time frame. At all Mega Women's Health Camps including the twin camps at Koderma and Ranchi on November 3 and 4, 2018 respectively, experts from Chittaranjan Cancer Institute, Kolkata and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre and Max Hospital New Delhi are continuously imparting training to all women doctors employed with the state health services on use of Cryo Machines and Colposcope for early detection and cure of cervical cancer since 2015 Dr Kashyap said.
Impact of the cervical cancer eradication campaign in Jharkhand by women doctors wing is such path breaking that six Sadar Hospitals of remote area of Santhal Pargana and Sadar Hospitals of Koderma and Ranchi have been equipped and two more Sadar Hospitals in Giridih and Hazaribagh are in process of getting equipped with cervical pre cancer detection and treatment equipments.
At the Mega Women Health Camp at Koderma, on November 3, 554 women were screened of which 12 women were diagnosed and treated at camp site with cervical pre cancer.At Ranchi, of the 300 women screened, 4 women were diagnosed and treated for pre cervical cancer whilst in both the camps 60 percent, were found to be diagnosed with infection of their reproductive organs, who were given Dr.Kashyap revealed.