CUTTACK: For over two weeks, Utkal Ranjan Rout has been running from pillar to post to get his radiotherapy session scheduled at the Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer (AHPGIC), but to no avail.The 43-year-old man from Bajapaura in Mahanga block has been diagnosed with tongue cancer and advised radiotherapy, but a defunct CT-Simulator machine has deprived him of the treatment.
After diagnosis, doctors at the premier government-run cancer hospital of the State had referred him to the radiotherapy unit on March 16, where he was suggested to go for more tests and come back with all the reports on March 28 for radiation therapy.When Rout reached the hospital on the day, he was told to come on April 4, but upon reaching the hospital on the said day, he was again told to wait for another few days as the CT-Simulator was still out of order.
“With no other option left, I brought my son back home. I don’t know when the defunct CT-Simulator machine will be restored and when my son will be able to receive radiation,” Utkal’s father Madhab Charan Rout, said.With the CT-Simulator lying defunct for more than a week, many cancer patients like Utkal are reportedly waiting for their radiation sessions.
While health experts emphasise early diagnosis and timely treatment to improve cancer survival rates, the defunct machine has delayed radiotherapy for many cancer patients at the AHPGIC.AHPGIC director Lalatendu Sarangi said the machine was repaired twice in a week, but again broke down because of short circuit. “Necessary spare parts are being procured from Mumbai and the CT-Simulator will be functional within a day or two,” he said.