Three senior members from the city's medical fraternity were feted in recognition of their services to the community at the Doctor's Day celebration and award ceremony held at the IMA Hall here on Sunday.
The Dr.M.S.Ashraf's Doctor's Day award was presented to gynaecologist Pankajam Seetharama Rao, physician S.Ponniah and ophthalmologist R.Kalaikkovan. A.Venugopal, President, Indian Medical Association (IMA),Tiruchi conferred the awards in the presence of Malathi G Prasad, Secretary, and M.S.Ashraf, former national vice president, IMA, after whom the awards are constituted.
Dr.Pankajam laid emphasis on practising compassion and empathy to taste success in social and professional life. While Dr. Ponniah said the IMA was his nurturing ground for its learning experiences, Dr. Kalikkovan credited his family and senior physicians for his professional success. Doctors, K.Avvai, S.Sethuraman and S.Palaniyandi offered felicitations.
The Association also honoured two city professionals among this year's ten recipients of the State Doctor's Day awards. S.Palaniyandi, senior physician was conferred the ‘senior citizen award' for his ethical practice and yeoman service spanning 40 years. C.Shanthakumar, Director, Spastics Society of Tiruchi, was honoured under the non-medical professional category for his altruistic service to children with cerebral palsy.
Later delivering the Dr.R.Ganesan Endowment Lecture, V.Kannan, Director, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Consultant and Head, Radiation Oncology, Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Coimbatore, observed that hi tech radiation therapy was the need of the hour for promoting long term health of cancer patients.
Though two thirds of cancer patients need radiation therapy that is increasingly preferred by patients, only one third receive it due to major shortage of treatment facility, he said. Stating that cancer centres should be hailed as local and national assets for serving the community, Dr.Kannan said cancer was increasingly identified at the curable stage, thanks to early diagnosis and advanced treatment. Still it was worrying that India had a growing younger cancer population.
Among the leading cancers in Indian men are lung and bronchitis cancers, while cervical cancer topped the list of cancers in women, but a recent trend showed breast cancer leading in urban metropolitan registries.
K.N.Srinivasan, Consultant Radiation Oncologist, chaired the lecture. A video presentation was screened as a tribute to Dr. R. Ganesan.
