The difficult stories we hear when it comes to cancer treatment, like patients discontinuing treatment or not wanting treatment owing to the side effects, will be a thing of the past if Theronostics (diagnosis + therapeutics) is adopted, Prithvi Mohandas, managing director, MIOT International, said here on Saturday.
While speaking on the occasion of ‘Masterclass in Theronostics—360 degrees on Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen [PSMA] Theranostics’ jointly organised by MIOT International and the Society of Nuclear Medicine-India (Southern Chapter), he said many patients were anxious to know whether a treatment would be acceptable to their body or not.
Theranostics in nuclear medicine aids in clearly recognising and destroying advanced cancer without affecting the health tissues. “It uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radioactive isotopes or radioisotopes: one radioisotope to identify (diagnose) and a second radioisotope to deliver therapy to treat any metastatic tumours, where cancer is advanced or hasn’t responded to other conventional treatments,” according to a press release..
It can be extremely painful and frustrating for patients if the diagnosis is wishy-washy or not very accurate, he said. “Hence, this treatment is very safe and accurate. The various interesting isotopes produced make diagnosis extremely reliable,” he said.
The huge challenge today in health care, especially in India, is the cost of healthcare delivery, he said. Once these treatments and diagnostic methods catch on and they become popular, then will become accessible to more people, Dr. Mohandas added.
