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Sassoon hospital offers cancer treatment at minimal cost but lacks dedicated centre
Changuna Bansode, a 74-year-old woman will now live with only one and a half kidney after a recent surgery at city-based Sassoon General Hospital (SGH)
Changuna Bansode, a 74-year-old woman will now live with only one and a half kidney after a recent surgery at city-based Sassoon General Hospital (SGH). A portion of Bansode’s kidney was surgically removed as it was cancerous, and it cost her less than ₹4,000.
In spite of the regular occurrence of such cases at the hospital, there is an absence of a dedicated cancer centre at SGH which caters to thousands of patients.
Shobha Kamble, a relative of Bansode said that the patient was diagnosed with cancer and the surgery would have been very expensive at a private hospital.
“We had to get her to Sassoon General Hospital. She was taken in for surgery twice in January but due to high blood pressure, the surgery was not done. At last, recently, the surgery was done, and she is fine now. Under various medical schemes, the overall cost of surgery was meagre, and we are happy that she could get the best treatment at this hospital,” said Kamble.
Dr Kiran Kumar Jadhav, associate professor at BJ medical college and Sassoon hospital with the department of surgery operated on the patient.
According to Jadhav, a portion of Bansode’s kidney was malign.
“Thankfully, we could save the rest of the kidney. Now the patient has one and a half kidney and it is functional. The patient has responded well to the treatment,” said Dr Jadhav.
SGH is a tertiary hospital and witnesses a wave of patients from all parts of Maharashtra, including that for cancer. However, the hospital does not have a dedicated cancer centre.
“Our department has done around 42 cancer surgeries in December and January. On average, at least seven patients come to the hospital for chemotherapy. Many patients prefer SGH as the cost of treatment here is less as compared to private players. With so many footfalls for cancer itself, a dedicated centre is a need of the hour,” said Dr Jadhav.
Dr Murlidhar Tambe, dean, BJ medical college and Sassoon said that the hospital has all the facilities for patients at lower costs.
“For several years the proposal for a cancer centre is in the pipeline. We need a proper budget and land for constructing a dedicated centre where surgery, chemo and radiotherapy can be given to patients at affordable costs. We are taking all the efforts that we can to get the budget sanctioned as well as the land for the centre,” said Tambe.
