Govind Sharma
JAMMU, July 18: In a significant day in the history of health care delivery in the Jammu region, the much-awaited PET scan services were started today at State Cancer Institute, Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu and four scans were done on the very first day.
The Nuclear Medicine team headed by Prof Ashutosh Gupta (Principal, GMC Jammu), who is himself a well-known cancer specialist, performed first PET scan. The other team members from Nuclear Medicine and Radiodiagnosis specialty included Dr Rahul Sharma, Prof Kulbhushan Gupta, Dr Rajeev Gupta, Dr Abdul Waheed, Dr Sudheer Sharma and other supportive staff.
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Speaking to Excelsior, Dr Ashutosh Gupta informed that a total of four PET scan were done today under the supervision of Dr Deepak Kumar (Medical Superintendent, State Cancer Institute, Jammu). He said this high-end facility could be made functional with personal efforts of Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah (Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department, J&K), who himself is a medico.
Dr Shah, when contacted, stated that this has been a landmark achievement not only for GMC Jammu but also for the people of Jammu region who were suffering a lot due to non-availability of this vital facility which is must to treat and monitor cancer patients. He shared that the new PET scan machine procured at a cost of Rs 13 crore by J&K Medical Supply Corporation is the latest generation PET scan by Wipro GE Company Discovery IQ. He said the model installed has highest NEMA sensitivity and quantization accuracy which ultimately provides enhanced patient care, comfort and satisfaction.
“The PET CT will soon be linked with radiation therapy machines to be installed in State Cancer Institute so that all radiation planning will be done on PET based imaging. This will make radiation treatment very precise and accurate,” Dr Ashutosh stated. He said that efforts are being made to keep the user charges for PET scan and other facilities at State Cancer Institute at a very affordable level so that poor patients can utilize the facilities.
Pertinent to mention here that a PET scan is a crucial machine that detects early signs of cancer, heart disease, and brain conditions but even a single Government Hospital in the entire the Jammu division had not the PET scan facility till date, forcing cancer patients to travel out of the J&K or visit private hospitals. Now, having this test available at State Cancer Institute Jammu will significantly reduce the financial burden on patients, as it is much more expensive at private hospitals.
According to the Hospital Based Cancer Registry (HBCR), 9,630 cancer patients were registered at GMC Jammu between 2018 and 2022. The most common type of cancer among these patients was lung cancer. The data suggests that among females, the most common cancer site is the breast, while among males, it is the lungs.
Similarly, according to the National Cancer Registry Programme report (2014-2016), 5,175 cancer patients were registered at GMC Jammu. Among them, 2,846 were males and 2,329 females.
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