NEW DELHI: A first-of-its kind online tutorial, meant to train doctors in small towns and far-flung areas in early detection, prevention, palliation, rehabilitation and treatment of various cancers was launched by the Centre on Wednesday in collaboration with the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
The course is intended for physicians, gynecologists, dentists and other healthcare professionals who are not oncologists, but can help in early detection and diagnosis of cancers. The online video lectures, as part of seven-week course, are also designed to update oncologists with the evidence based guidelines and skill for the management of cancer.
The tutorial comprises of 14 hours of comprehensive e-learning through more than 40 video lectures, case studies, assessment questionnaires and periodic interactive Webinar sessions with respective TMH consultants.
Launching the program, health secretary Preeti Sudan said that this initiative will help the doctors upgrade their knowledge and skills regularly and will help in taking care of obsolescence.
“This initiative can save many precious lives and improve quality of life of many more,” the Health Secretary added.
“There are lakhs of doctors who may not have the time to attend physical conferences, continued medical education programmes and are busy working in rural or tier 2 cities,” said a statement by the ministry.
India recorded an estimated 3.9 million cancer cases in 2016, data available with the National Cancer Registry Programme of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had shown. Experts believe that mortality due to cancer can significantly reduce in the country if the disease is diagnosed early as over 70 per cent cases of cancer are reported in advanced stages.