Chennai : In a continued effort towards reaching greater heights in medical excellence, VS Hospitals today launched a dedicated Centre for Geriatric Oncology, South India’s first Integrated Geriatric Oncology Unit. Speaking at the event, Prof. Dr. S. Subramanian, Senior Medical Oncologist, Founder Chairman and Managing Director, VS Group of Hospitals said, “Cancer Incidence and mortality increases with age, with most cancer diagnosis occurring in patients aged 65 and above.The Evaluation and development of treatment recommendations for an older adult with cancer is very challenging and in order to bridge the gap – First of its kind Geriatric Oncology centre at VS Hospital will function in collaboration with senior geriatrician Dr V S Natarajan. It is a one-stop centre for older adults diagnosed with cancer and provides a comprehensive range of medical services to support them.”The Geriatric Oncology Centre was launched by Padmasri Prof. Dr. V. S. Natarajan in the presence of Freedom Fighter Shri. Lakshmi Kanthan Bharathi IAS (R) and Prof. Dr. S. Jagadesh Chandra Bose, HOD and Senior Consultant Surgical Oncologist, VS Hospitals.
Also present at the launch event were Prof Dr. S. Subramanian, Prof. Dr. S. Sundar, Senior Consultant Joint Replacement & Tumour Surgeon and Medical Director, VS Group of Hospitals and Mr. Muthu Subramanian, Executive Director, VS Group of Hospitals.Speaking on the launch Prof. Dr. S. Subramanian said “Our Geriatric Oncology Centre is one of the first dedicated centres in India exclusively for geriatric cancer care set up with the mission to provide personalized care for older people who suffer from various forms of cancers. Our comprehensive geriatric assessment provides a detailed evaluation of medical, psychosocial, and functional problems in older patients with cancer.
It can identify areas of vulnerability, predict toxicity and survival, assist in clinical decision-making, guide the development of individualized treatment plans, improve provider-patient communication and predict treatment completion.”Speaking at the event, Prof. Dr. S. Jagadesh Chandra Bose said, “Cancer is the second and fourth leading cause of adult deaths in urban and rural India, respectively. Cancer survival rate in India is among the lowest in the world. The failure to get an early diagnosis is higher for several types of cancers in India. According to a report of National Cancer Registry Programme 2020, India’s cancer cases could increase by 12 per cent in the next five years, with 1.5 million people projected to suffer from the non-communicable disease by 2025.
Sedentary lifestyles, increase in urban pollution, in addition to rise in obesity, tobacco and alcohol consumption are the reasons behind the rise.”Senior Geriatrician Dr. V. S. Natarajan said, “Managing an older patient with cancer can be challenging. These patients are often frail, have comorbidities, are on multiple medications, and may have social, economic, and psychological problems. Many times, older patients with cancer are not considered for a curative treatment approach, despite the tumour being amenable to radical treatment, just by virtue of their age. When these patients are treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery, they may experience more toxicity and higher chance of morbidity and mortality. Many of the landmark clinical trials have excluded geriatric oncology patients, making evidence based management decisions in this patient population even more difficult”.
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