Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology supported by Tata Trusts to launch a comprehensive cancer care center in Mangaluru: Launch on June 11

Bengaluru, June 7: Cancer is no longer an uncommon word, as a matter of fact it has taken the place of the second largest killer disease in India. The number of people affected by this disease is ever increasing. It has made its way into people’s lives no matter what their financial status, religion, urban or rural, affecting them emotionally and financially. The more disturbing aspect is the challenges for the families in getting proper treatment, support for early detection and prevention, the suffering, and not getting an honorable end stage journey.

Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) through its constituent hospital, Yenepoya Medical College Hospital has been serving cancer patients for the last decade at very affordable costs, with its expert team and highly advanced equipment. Taking a step further, a state of the art advanced cancer centre – Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology supported by Tata Trusts will be officially inaugurated on Saturday the 11^th June 2022 by Dr. K Sudhakar, Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education, Govt. of Karnataka and Shri. Srinath N, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Trusts Mumbai.

“The University wanted to upgrade the treatment facility with the addition of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine departments. Tata Trusts has supported the Institute with a ‘one time grant-in-aid’ in establishing a Comprehensive Cancer Care Center in the Medical College Hospital at our University campus at Deralakatte. The establishment of the Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology in Mangaluru, supported by Tata Trusts is the new milestone achieved by the University. The centre will serve the patients with swift and precise treatment at affordable costs by a team of internationally trained oncologists,” said Dr. M Vijayakumar, Vice Chancellor, Yenepoya (Deemed University).

Tata Trusts have been doing pioneering work in cancer care for many decades. Their efforts in supporting and capacity building in the fight against cancer across the country have been immense. “Tata Trusts has been at the forefront of cancer care in India. Towards this, we have conceptualised the ‘Distributed Cancer Control Model’, which is based on a four-pronged approach encompassing Awareness, Early Diagnosis, Accessibility, and Affordability. In partnership with both the Governments’ and private institutions, we are upgrading and creating cancer care infrastructure across the country. The facility at Yenepoya is a part of this effort and we hope it will go a long way in helping the people of the state,” said Srinath N, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Trusts from Mumbai.

Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Chief Executive, Cancer Care Programme, Tata Trusts, said: “We are happy to have supported the Yenepoya Medical Hospital with a radiation and nuclear medicine center that houses state-of-the-art equipment, and will deliver affordable quality treatment. With this cancer care center, the people of North Karnataka and nearby regions will not have to travel far to big cities for diagnosis and treatment.  We are hopeful that this center will greatly benefit the cancer care ecosystem in the region.”

Elaborating about the facility, Dr Dr. Jalaluddin Akbar, Head of Department of Oncology said: “The building has six floors with a built in area of about 36,000 sq.ft. The Center houses two Radiotherapy bunkers and one Brachytherapy bunker. A TrueBeam radiotherapy machine which can offer a more targeted and precise approach to cancer and minimize damage to healthy tissues resulting in fewer complications and time saving and a brachytherapy machine with necessary accessories have been installed and commissioned. The perfect pitch 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) couch enables high degree of accuracy in advanced radiation treatments. The building also has a separate Nuclear Medicine facility including PET CT Scanner, often considered as the one stop solution for cancer imaging with an all body evaluation and Radio Isotope therapy.  In addition, a 10 bedded Day Care facility for administering chemotherapy has been established.”