Max Healthcare’s focus on cancer care and enthusing the spirit of ‘I am and I will’ amongst cancer survivors

Max Healthcare to conduct COVID testing for all 24,000 employees and in-patients to ensure staff and patient safety

New Delhi, February 1, 2020: Cancer is emerging as a significant health problem with incidence expected to double every 20 years. The current incidence stands at 125 per 100,000 population per year and cancer accounts for over 6 percent of total deaths. In such a scenario, it is imperative that public and private healthcare institutions make it a mission to fight this disease effectively and put in place mechanisms which not only spread awareness for prevention and early diagnosis, but also show the path for timely and effective redressal.

Max Healthcare has built its oncology department from a small team of only 10 clinicians and 25 beds to 100+ clinicians and 400+ beds under the able leadership of Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, Chairman, Max Institute of Cancer Care. The team comprises of  experts in the field of surgical, medical and radiation oncology along with  palliative care physicians, psychologists, intensivists, nursing staff, physiotherapists etc. Over the years, our patients and their families have also helped us develop a strong support group program which works closely with us on a day to day basis.

The most promising feature of the team is the formation of Disease Management Groups (DMG). Each DMG has doctors from all specialities who focus on a particular group of organs such as Head and Neck, Breast , Gastrointestinal, Hematolyphoid DMG etc. In this way, they are able to bring high level of expertise in patient care and improve clinical outcomes while contributing to cutting edge research. For example, the Hematolyphoid DMG has performed more than 500 Bone Marrow Transplants in the last decade including autologous and allogeneic transplants.

Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, Chairman, Max Institute of Cancer Care says, “Recent data shows that developing countries are facing a sharp increase in cancer incidence. But at the same time, there have been numerous advancements in cancer care. However, majority of our population is not able to avail the benefits of these developments due to sheer lack of knowledge and myths associated with the subject. We, at Max Healthcare, are striving to bridge this gap by spreading awareness about the importance of early detection.”

He adds, “In the recent past, the fusion of sciences has offered new solutions for better diagnostics and enhanced understanding of tumor biology. In this era of precision medicine, the application of genetics, molecular oncology, immunotherapy and precision medicine has given us a lot of tools to treat cancer and we are trying to leverage this information to serve our patients better.”

Technologies
Virtual Tumour Board

  • Clinicians from different parts of the world can interact with each other through a video platform to understand the nuances of a case and mutually agree on a line of treatment.
  • Max Institute of Cancer Care successfully hosts the Virtual Tumour Board for internal and external discussions.
da Vinci Surgical Robot

  • This state-of-the-art technology was deployed in 2016 at Max Saket, designed to provide doctors with a 3D vision and allows them to sit on a console and control the robotic arms to carry out the most intricate steps of complex surgical procedures with unparalleled ease and finesse.
  • Apart from unparalleled precision, this minimally invasive surgery method reduces the risk of operative blood loss and post operative pain.
Computer Navigation Assisted Bone Tumor Surgery –

  • Max Healthcare is also very proud to be the pioneers in Computer Navigation Assisted Bone Tumor Surgery in the country which has come in as a breakthrough.
  • The technology enables the surgeon to exactly reproduce the precise surgical plan that is made preoperatively, making sure minimum bone needs to be removed and maximum form and function of the limb retained.
  • Giving the surgeon more confidence to make closer cuts, computer navigation has been shown to reduce bone loss, blood loss and operative time without compromising disease clearance.

S. No. Case Doctor Synopsis
6 year old boy who fought bone cancer Dr. Vivek Verma, Senior Consultant – Orthopaedic Oncosurgeon, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali
  • age 6, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) – the malignant tumour in his right leg femur (thigh bone).
  • The child’s parents informed the doctor that the child was suffering from constant throbbing pain which woke him from his sleep, had a swelling in the affected area and a pathological fracture.
  • After further evaluation of his condition and nature of tumour, Achintya underwent a 10 hour on 16th January 2020.
  • He is now disease-free and has gone back to his daily routine of playtime and studying.
  • His leg is saved and now he has started playing his video games and soon waiting to get out of bed as soon as the wound heals.
  • He was discharged within 10 days off surgery.
19 year old boy with recurring bone cancer Dr. Vivek Verma, Senior Consultant – Orthopaedic Oncosurgeon, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali
  • A student residing in Pune, Aditya, was diagnosed with bone cancer (Osteosarcoma) at the young age of 15.
  • His case was further evaluated at a hospital in Pune following which he underwent 5-6cycles of chemotherapy and surgery.
  • He was doing well and was recovering when the disease hit him again at the same thigh bone. He was in immense pain due to prosthesis fracture.
  • On further evaluation at Max, he was advised chemotherapy to contain the disease and then underwent ‘Total Femur Replacement’ in July 2019 which was performed successfully.
  • It’s a procedure which is not done routinely as its more complex than traditional replacement surgeries and requires full bone replacement from hip joint to knee joint.
  • The lung nodules were also removed by minimally invasive technique.
  • Currently he is disease free and walking independently.

Over the years, Max Healthcare has been actively working towards offering international standard of healthcare facilities in different regions across the country. The leading healthcare player organizes numerous health-camps, OPDs and screening camps in different part of North India.

About Neel Achary 20692 Articles
Neel Achary is the editor of Business News This Week. He has been covering all the business stories, economy, and corporate stories.