Sun, Jan 28, 2024
Sun, Jan 28, 2024
ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS One fine evening, while taking a walk in her society’s garden in Dwarka, Delhi, Nikhat Khan, 62, suddenly experienced a double vision. Her feet stopped, and she took a minute to confirm and understand the situation. She then rushed home and told her husband about the same, who took her to a regular optician for a check up.
As per the optician, there was nothing serious. “I should have been fine soon,” informs Khan.
Thinking that perhaps she needs a change of environment, she moved to Canada to live with her daughter, and continued to live with the double vision for three months thinking that it would be fine soon. However, while having her breakfast one June morning last year, Khan found that the left side of her face numb and that she was unable to chew her food.
She immediately informed her daughter about the same, who took her for a check up, when it was found that Khan had a brain tumour at the base of the skull. Her world stopped for a minute. She, though, was advised adjuvant radiation with proton therapy in view of the location of the tumour (base skull) and proximity to nearby vital structures like hippocampus (a part of the brain that plays a major role in learning and memory), brain parenchyma, bilateral temporal lobes (if damaged, can lead to a loss of cognitive ability or even death), optic apparatus (related to one’s eyesight), and parotids (salivary glands).
Khan then decided to come back to India for her treatment and went for Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai.
In India, the estimated number of cancer incident cases in 2022 was 14,61,427. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Cancer Registry Program (NCRP) report released in 2020, the estimated number of new cancer cases in Delhi in 2020 was around 35,422. The report also mentions that the incidence rate of cancer in Delhi was 110.3 per 100,000 population. The most common types of cancer in the Capital were reported to be breast cancer, cervical cancer, oral cavity cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
According to the International Association of Cancer Registries (IARC), more than 24,000 people die each year because of brain tumours. So far, the APCC has treated over 300 cases of brain tumours, 24 of which are from New Delhi.
Just like Khan, Navadiya Jemin Mansukhbhai, a young adult from Gujarat, also got treated for brain tumour at APCC, and there are many others like Khan and Mansukhbhai, who have been treated for various forms of cancer. The list goes on.
Till date, nearly 900 cancer patients have been treated using PBT at APCC, the concept for which was conceived in 2012 and the centre officially started working in 2019.
The major advantage of proton therapy treatment is that protons slowly deposit their energy as they travel towards the cancerous tumour and deposit most of the radiation dose directly in the tumour without damaging the body further.
Sapna Nangia, Senior Consultant, Radiation Oncology, Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC), Chennai, says, “APCC employs the latest technology in pencil beam scanning, which allows for spot-by-spot and layer-by-layer delivery of proton beams to the tumour site, while minimising exposure to the surrounding healthy tissues. This approach is particularly advantageous for tumours located in sensitive areas such as the base of the skull or lung, where traditional radiation therapy may cause significant damage to healthy tissue.”
She also informs that this therapy is safe even for infants. Sharing her experience with the reporters on Tuesday in New Delhi, she said, “We have treated an eight-month old infant with this therapy safely.”
Proton therapy is being adopted for the treatment of various cancers like brain and spine tumours, skull base tumours, oral cancers, gastro-intestinal cancers, bone and soft tissue tumours, breast cancers, thoracic cancers (lung cancer), genito-urinary cancers (prostate cancer) and predominantly in paediatric cancers, except for leukaemia.
The cost of the therapy for different cancers ranges from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, notifies Dr Harish Trivedi, CEO, APCC.
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