Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Dec 9: Hundreds of cancer patients in south Kashmir are facing immense difficulties due to the lack of radiotherapy facilities at Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag. The absence of critical equipment has left patients and their attendants struggling to access essential treatment.
Attendants, especially from financially weaker families, are finding it challenging to transport their loved ones daily to SKIMS Soura or SMHS Srinagar for radiotherapy.
Relatives of a 45-year-old cancer patient from District Hospital (DH) Kulgam said that their patient, who has undergone multiple chemotherapy sessions, now requires radiotherapy. “We have to take him to Soura regularly for about four weeks. This daily travel from Kulgam is not only exhausting but also financially burdensome for a family like ours,” they said.
Other patients and their attendants said that cancer cases are rising at an alarming rate. They lamented the lack of such critical facilities at GMC Anantnag, which would have made treatment more accessible and less expensive.
Doctors at GMC Anantnag revealed that while trained manpower is available, the radiotherapy department lacks essential equipment such as Tele-cobalt and Linear Accelerator (LINAC) machines. The absence of these machines forces patients to travel to Srinagar for treatment, where existing facilities are already overcrowded.
“It becomes extremely difficult for poor patients from far-off places to travel to Srinagar for radiotherapy regularly,” a doctor said, adding that patients requiring radiotherapy at GMC Anantnag are left to suffer due to these shortcomings.
According to hospital records, over 1,600 cancer patients are registered at GMC Anantnag, and approximately 60-70% of them require radiotherapy at some stage. Apart from patients from south Kashmir, the hospital also caters to those from Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban and other districts.
Doctors and attendants have urged higher authorities to address this issue at the earliest by establishing a regional cancer centre at GMC Anantnag. Such a facility would significantly ease the burden on patients from south Kashmir and other districts, they said.
Principal GMC Anantnag, Dr Rukhsana Najeeb said that all formalities for establishing radiotherapy facilities have been completed, and efforts are underway to launch these services at the earliest.
“We are hopeful that radiotherapy services will be available at the hospital by next year,” Dr Najeeb said.
