Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital has installed an advanced Linear Accelerator and CT Simulator Machine (LINAC machine) for treating cancer patients free of cost. The machine is said to be high-tech and will make the process of cancer treatment efficient.
“Cancer treatment is extremely costly in private hospitals. The services of the LINAC machine will be available free of cost. The price of the device is around Rs 35 crores and it is imported from the United States of America,” Dr Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, LNJP Hospital, told Patriot.
He also added that the facility is currently available only in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.
“Now, LNJP has installed it. It’s a proud moment for us. The machine will remove the cell of cancer with its advanced technology and destroy it inside the body without any side-effects. Around 20,000 cancer patients come every year to LNJP’s OPD and around a thousand are admitted for radiotherapy. So this will help us,” he said.
Funded by the Central government, the machine provides 360 degrees rotary radiotherapy which can be used to treat any type of cancer, including the most common ones such as head and neck cancers, brain tumours, breast cancer, gastro-intestinal cancer, among others.
On August 7, Delhi LG VK Saxena made a surprise visit to the LNJP hospital and directed it to ensure optimal usage of the machine for cancer patients.
Although the machine was installed last month, it has reportedly treated only 18 patients till now due to technical glitches.
According to the National Cancer Registry Programme Survey 2020, men will have a cancer incidence of 7,63,575 by 2025, while women will have a cancer incidence of 8,06,218 in the country.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also estimated that there will be about 8,00,000 new cancer cases in India every year.
