Radiosurgery kills the tumour star


Express July 07, 2010

KARACHI: Gamma rays can treat tumours without requiring open surgery and damaging surrounding organs. This treatment, called Stereotactic Radio Surgery, is now available in Karachi but desperately needs government support because it is so expensive.

The treatment has been started at the Neurospinal and Medical Institute (NMI) that has a growing list of patients. The institute specialises in the Gamma Knife and Stereotactic Radiosurgery, through which tumours can be treated in any part of the body, even the brain, liver, chest or spine.

“The treatment, which is technically non-surgical and relies on three-dimensional images to identify the exact location of the tumour with the body, is safe and quick,” said Sattar M Hashim, NMI director, on Wednesday, while talking to APP.

Most patients had been unaware of the existence of the facility in Karachi until recently. Many people had to travel to Singapore and pay $130,000 for the surgery, said Hashim. While Singapore owns one SRS facility, India had four, which is why, despite the cost of Rs1.2 million, patients from Pakistan often travel to there to get treated.

“Most of the patients who are referred to us by neurosurgeons across the country are in no position to pay for the treatment,” said Hashim, who is also a professor of neurosurgery at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. “Since this surgical procedure is expensive, the list of patients who cannot afford this treatment is growing.”

The facility caters to patients with benign and malignant tumours and offers them hope to live an improved life, while patients with benign tumours can often be completely cured over the years. While metostatic static lesions can be treated completely, tumours that spread fast, such as blood cancer and lymphoma, are not as easy to cure as the infected cells are constantly on the move and cannot be targeted with the Gamma rays used to kill the virus.

While the treatment is fast and does not need the support of any medicine, follow-ups are a necessity to check if the tumour has been removed completely, said Hashim, who added that a booster dose is given to a patient if the tumour does return. The one-shot process, which costs Rs0.35 million at NMI, is an excellent way to ensure that the tissues surrounding the infected area are not harmed, he said. A team of two neurosurgeons, two oncologists and one physicist perform the SRS at NMI. Patients are required to visit the institute after every six months for two years to ensure that the tumours are non-recurrent.

Patients who cannot afford the treatment are offered assistance through the Muhammad Hashim Trust, said the neurosurgeon. “In the past two years, we have provided free treatment to at least 200 patients with tumours at NMI while the facility also allows philanthropists to ‘adopt’ patients and sponsor their treatment.”

While the facility at NMI has begun to attract many patients from across the country, patients from Afghanistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the US and Europe also approach it. “This is a positive development. However, since the centre is required to pay monthly instalments of $130,000 dollars to the manufacturers of the machines at the institute, and cater to the less fortunate patients, we need additional support,” said Hashmi.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2010.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ