Cancer surgeries rise by 30 per cent
TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: Cancer surgeries at the Goa Medical College and Hospital have gone up by upto 30 per cent over the past two years, with GMC doctors warning that changing lifestyles including food habits, kind of food consumed and ingredients could be responsible for the increase in major surgeries, especially cancers.
In a reply to a question posed by Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte, Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said that there has been an increase in cancer, gastroenterology and specialty surgeries at GMC over the last two years.
According to the information disclosed by him, diseases pertaining to colon/rectum/stomach have increased by 25 per cent over the last two years. Surgeries ~ especially pertaining to breast cancer ~ have gone up by 30 per cent; stomach, colon and rectum cancers has increased by 20 per cent whereas liver and pancreas cancers have increased by 15 per cent.
However, there is a mixed trend regarding specialty surgeries with the number of operations in neurosurgery falling from 632 in 2011 to 572 in 2012. The number of cases of plastic surgeries has increased from 247 in 2011 to 350 in 2012, pediatric surgeries have gone up from 290 in 2011 to 328 in 2012 and urology surgeries have also gone up from 1310 in 2011 to 1318 in 2012.
By far, the largest number of surgeries has been reported from the orthopaedic department with 3,829 being conducted in 2012 itself, in addition to 820 surgeries being conducted at the North Goa District Hospital, and 787 being conducted at Hospicio in Margao.
The rise in the number of cases has been a cause of concern, with GMC doctors warning that changing lifestyles including food habits, kind of food consumed, ingredients in the food could be responsible for the increase in number of cases especially cancers.
The trends of breast and colorectal cancer being the highest have continued with a study by GMC’s pathology department in 2009 too finding high number of cases of breast and colorectal cancers. Breast and colorectal cancer then too were high with 163 and 103 cases respectively.
Other cancers too reported relatively high figures for a small State with 80 cases of cervical cancer, 64 cases of stomach cancer 55 cases of mouth cancer and eight cases of parotid cancer being reported.
The rise of parotid the hitherto unheard off cancer of the parotid gland located close to the ear was postulated to be because of the rise in use of mobile phones.
