The Gujarat Cancer Research Institute

Region: Gujarat Country: India

Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (GCRI) established in 1972, is an autonomous body jointly managed by Government of Gujarat and Gujarat Cancer Society (GCS). GCRI is also recognized as a major Regional Cancer Center by Government of India.

Year 2009-2010 was a year of many clinical, research and community directed activities projecting the excellent team work of the staff. It is the year of introduction of Sanjivani Rath - modern mobile diagnostic services for rural Gujarat, introduction of Health Passports for awareness and prevention of cancer and major non communicable diseases, and also it is the year of establishing telemedicine ties with various district hospitals of our state. We have initiated oncology nursing training to cater the need of specialized oncology nurses.

MCI has increased our seats for DM Medical Oncology and MCH Surgical Oncology courses from this year. We have completed more than 100 bone marrow transplantation this year. We have installed new cobalt machine marketed by BARC this year to cope with the heavy work load of our radiology services.

We gratefully acknowledge the constant support from Government of Gujarat and Gujarat Cancer Society.

Under the dynamic Chairmanship of Shri Pankaj Patel, GCRI is marching ahead to established itself as a premier institute in the field of cancer care and research in the world.

Chairman's Message
It is my privilege to present the Annual Report of The Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI) for the year 2009-10. Over the last four decades, GCRI has been leading the fight against cancer. It is the collaborative effort between the various stakeholders - the Government, the Gujarat Cancer Society and other institutions that has helped GCRI offer the best patient care in cancer management. As we step into a new decade, we at GCRI commit ourselves to being at the forefront in the fight against cancer.

RISING INCIDENCE OF CANCER
The incidence of cancer is on the rise. The total cancer cases are likely to go up from 979,786 cases in the year 2010 to 1,148,757 cases in the year 2020. The tobacco- related cancers for males are estimated to go up from 190,244 in the year 2010 to 225,241 in the year 2020. Similarly, the female cases will go up from 75,289 in 2010 to 93,563 in the year 2020. For the year 2010, the number of cancer cases related to digestive system, for both males and females, are estimated to be 107,030 and 86,606 respectively, and for, head and neck cancers, the estimates are 122,643 and 53,148 cases, respectively.

For the lymphoid and hematopoietic system (LHS), for the year 2010, are 62,648 for males and 41,591 for females. Gynaecological-related cancers are estimated to go up from 153,850 in 2010 to 182,602 in 2020. Among males and females, cancer of breast alone is expected to cross the figure of 100,000 by the year 2020. When we hear the word cancer, we don't think of statistics, we see the suffering that it brings. The rising numbers of people who suffer from this scourge, tells us that we need to be relentless in our pursuit to fight this disease and commit all our efforts to this endeavour.

THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER CONTINUES
The power to fight cancer comes from the heart and from the soul. But most of all, it comes from being able to imagine a day when the world would be cancer-free. GCRI's efforts in the sphere of cancer prevention and cancer screening, cancer treatment, research and education are all centred on this mission : to reduce the burden of the disease, to take all those steps that can prevent cancer and above all make our world cancer-free.

It's a war against cancer on many fronts beginning with the way we think. People often feel it's impossible to find a cure for cancer. But over 100 years ago smallpox was considered deadly and incurable until the world discovered the vaccine for it. People also said the same thing about polio. So we continue this war against cancer with the hope that we can conquer it.

GCRI continues to invest in updating its infrastructure and acquiring sophisticated technology and instru- ments for identifying, diagnosing and treating malignancies. This year has been a special one as we reached out to the people in rural Gujarat and extended our cancer care programme with the launch of Sanjivani Rath.

Its perhaps for the first time ever that there has been a concerted effort to create a systematic awareness and screening programme with the launch of the Health Passports. Our cancer care programme continues to provide the highest quality cancer care. During 2009, GCRI treated 2,32,634 outdoor patients. There were more than 24,000 new patients during the year and over 30,000 patients underwent chemotherapy treatment with over 19,000 major and minor surgeries being conducted.

FUTURE CHALLENGES AND COMMITTED GOALS
It has been very heartening to see the community participate and support us in various initiatives to create cancer awareness and prevention. From generously contributing to the creation of a corpus fund to assisting GCRI in its various programmes, we'd like to acknowledge every step taken to fight this disease. GCRI remains committed to its goals:

To ensure that awareness against cancer and prevention of it gets maximum thrust
Provide free or subsidized treatment to needy patients
Enhance quality standards in cancer-related healthcare
Offer cutting-edge and research-oriented diagnosis and treatment
Set priorities for cancer research
Create a continuous stream of qualified and trained care givers who can address the healthcare challenges of the future

General Surgical Oncology
Services :
The department offers services in diagnosis, t reatment, and palliative care of the patients. Different surgical teams occupy five major surgical operation theatres. Day stay unit facilities are provided for biopsy and evaluation of lesion before planning of surgery. The department is involved in diagnostic perioperative care, follow up and care of terminally ill patients

Activities:

Clinical:
Camps for early detection of cancer are conducted at various places in Gujarat and in the neighboring states, including organizations such as ONGC, Air Force and Armed Forces etc. The department also participates in GCRI academic meetings.

Academic:
Regular lectures and teaching programmes are conducted for Resident Doctors and Fellows in the department.

Research:
Maintenance of patient's records and statistical data analysis is done. The data is presented in national level conferences and published in national/ international journals.

Public Services:
Training of Medical Officers of d istrict government hospitals for early detection of oral cavity and breast cancers conducted at GCRI this year.

EDUCATIONAL GRAPHICS & MEDICAL PHOTOGRAPHY
The department plays an important role in catering all the needs of Medical Photography and Educational Graphics of the institute for the purpose of clinical, educational and public awareness activities. Publication and printing designs are the main stay of this department. This is in the form of graphic designing, photographs, video, posters, folders, etc. Besides this, the department is preparing the presentation materials and handouts for scientific meets. The department is equipped with digital in-house production facility of educational material in CD form. The Department also participates in all the GCRI/GCS public awareness campaigns.