VIJAYAWADA: In a major boost to cancer care, the coalition government has installed an advanced Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan at the Guntur GGH.
This marks the first time such a facility has been set up in a state-run hospital, available only in private corporate institutions.
Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav and Union Minister Pemmasani Chandrasekhar will inaugurate the PET-CT scan facility at Guntur GGH’s Natco Cancer Institute on Thursday.
Imported from the US at a cost of Rs 18 crore, the facility will provide free diagnostic services to poor and middle-class patients. At present, PET scans in private hospitals cost nearly Rs 20,000 per test.
The government also sanctioned Rs 41 crore for advanced equipment, including Linac, HDR brachytherapy and CT stimulator systems.
Trial runs have already been completed successfully on 50 patients. The centre now offers radiation, surgical, medical, nuclear, preventive oncology and palliative care services.
Yadav said the PET scan would help departments such as cardiology, neurology and orthopaedics diagnose complex diseases.
He added that the Natco Cancer Centre has treated nearly 20,000 outpatients and 7,000 inpatients over the last four-and-a-half years.