Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy has indicated that some procedures in the Rajiv Arogyasri scheme might need reconsideration.
“I know there are some procedures that can be removed from Rajiv Arogyasri, and some that can be added to this,” Dr. Reddy said here Friday. “I will discuss [this issue] with the Arogyasri Trust. We will examine the possibility of adding more procedures to this list.”
Addressing doctors and staff of Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute during the World Cancer Day celebrations, he asked the medical fraternity to concentrate on palliative care while treating cancer patients.
Personal experience
“Be positive to the patient. Understand their pain and look at how you can treat them by use of good words. It goes a long way in lessening their pain,” Dr. Reddy told them. The observations, he said, came from his personal experiences as his family had a close connection with the “dreaded disease.” The Minister's father, sister and brothers were all victims of cancer. “I have seen with my own eyes the difficulties they faced and what a painful disease it can be.” “The problem with this disease is when it is in a nascent stage and can be cured, we ignore it.
By the time we realise the pain, it is already in an advanced stage and beyond cure,” N. Balakrishna, chairman and managing trustee of the foundation that manages the hospital observed.
The actor advised people to get themselves examined on observing any symptom of the disease, as timely medical attention was vital for treating cancer.
At the same time, he said, “we should get rid of this fear of pain and phobia for cancer hospitals.” The hospital's CEO R.P. Singh and medical superintendent D. Padmanabham were also present along with the Foundation's board members. A week-long exhibition on cancer is being organised at the hospital premises.
Apart from stalls put up by various departments of the hospital, cancer specimens put up by the department of Lab Medicine drew crowds in considerable numbers.
“We are displaying specimens of different kinds of cancer – from head to toe,” said Sudhakar Reddy, a technologist with the department.
