Shillong, Oct 16: NEIGRIHMS on Wednesday inaugurated its newly acquired state-of-the-art Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) machine for patient care.
During the inauguration, Prof (Dr) Nalin Mehta, Director of NEIGRIHMS, informed that the institute has made a steady progress to make comprehensive and advanced cancer care available to the people of the region who otherwise travel to other parts of the country for cancer treatment.
NEIGRIHMS has been performing HIPEC procedures in the past but the procurement of this sophisticated equipment can benefit numerous patients in the region, said the director.
Dr Caleb Harris, Surgical Oncologist, highlighted the application of HIPEC and explained its use as an installation of heated chemotherapeutic agents into the abdominal cavity for effective treatment of peritoneal malignancies. HIPEC has several advantages over standard chemotherapy.
“It is a single treatment done in the operating room, instead of multiple treatments over several weeks, and 90% of the drug stays within the abdominal cavity, thereby decreasing the toxic
effects of chemotherapy on the rest of the body, while allowing for a more intense dose. This offers hope for patients with dreaded cancers, for which the treatment otherwise was only palliative,” said Dr Harris.
Meanwhile, Dr Daniala C, Medical Superintendent said that NEIGRIHMS strives to offer the latest advances in cancer care to patients of North East.
