PRESS RELEASE
NARAYANA SUPERSPECIALITY HOSPITAL, KOLKATA ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF ITS
CANCER INSTITUTE FOR EASTERN INDIA
~ Eastern India emerging as the ‘Cancer Zone’ of the country ~
Kolkata, August 12, 2015: Narayana Health Network, which has made a mark in this region with
state-of-the-art cardiac treatment, announced the launch of NH Cancer Institute at Narayana
Superspeciality Hospital,Kolkata. A multidisciplinary team has been constituted for this hospital
which includes medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, Haemotooncologist, radiologists and pathologists.
Last year, Narayana Health announced taking over Westbank Health and Wellness Institute in
Howrah. After taking over this unit and renaming it as Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, the
group has added a number of departments in Oncology to create a Centre of Excellence in
Cancer Care. Cancer as a disease calls for multi-disciplinary approach. These departments
include Oncoplastic Breast Surgery- Oncology, Gynaecology-Oncology, Haemato-Oncology,
Head – Neck Surgery, Paediatric Oncology and Pain & Palliation Oncology. The oncologists are
backed by skilled para-medical staff who work in tandem and ensure support in patient care.
Apart from this, the hospital offers Cancer Combat Clinic for counseling of patients and second
opinion clinics as well. For terminally ill patients, the hospital has introduced a Pain and
Palliative Care Clinic.
Commenting on the same, Deepak Venugopalan, Zonal Director – East, Narayana Health said,
“Our aim is to bring more access to cancer care facilities in Eastern India without compromising
on quality and affordability. With our strong network of hospitals in this region along with our
outreach plans we intend to take effective cancer care to areas where this disease is often
under-diagnosed.”
Conveniently situated for people of the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, this hospital is set to
be a Centre of Excellence for Oncology in Eastern India. Moreover the Unit is linked to the vast
network of hospitals of Narayana Health across Eastern India. The hospital has already begun
planned outreach programmes in Agartala and Jamshedpur with their oncology OPD services.
Eastern India has a high incidence of cancer. As per the study ‘Cancer mortality in India: a
nationally representative survey’, published in the Lancet dated March 28, 2012, West Bengal
leads in terms of cancer deaths, after Uttar Pradesh. The same study states Eastern India had
reported particularly higher incidence of tobacco related cancer in men and cervical cancer in
women. This implies that Eastern India is gradually emerging as the cancer zone in the country.
What is even more alarming is that there is a huge gulf between facilities at the tier I and tier II
centres. Due to this, cancer in many patients remain un-diagnosed . With their robust outreach
plans and network of hospitals, this NH Cancer Institute will create a hub for cancer care, which
will be geographically accessible to not only the people in Kolkata and Howrah, but also to the
entire population of Eastern India.
According to Dr Suman Mallik, Consultant, Radiation Oncologist at Narayana Superspecialty
Hospital, Kolkata, “Of utmost importance in cancer treatment is awareness and early detection.
This calls for the need for specialized diagnosis and treatment facilities infiltrated in the region.
Cancer care also requires adherence to well-defined, evidence-based medical protocols derived
from latest medical research. We will be taking this standard of care to various regions of
Eastern India” He further added, “The regular planned outreach would mean that our team will
be travelling across to parts of Eastern region, which would open up avenues for us to get a
more in-depth understanding on how cancer can be better combated in this region.”
Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Kolkata is a unit of Narayana Health, founded by Dr. Devi
Shetty that has Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center (MSCC) at Narayana Health City in Bangalore.
With advanced cancer therapeutic facilities and research services in cancer and stem cell
transplants MSCC has one of India’s largest Bone Marrow Transplant unit. It has an experienced
team of specialists in head and neck cancer, breast cancer and gastrointestinal cancer to name a few,
backed by a team of radiation and medical oncologists. The center also focuses on early detection and
treatment of cancer among children. Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Kolkata, will have the
advantage of knowledge sharing of the best practices among the doctors from both hospitals
and oncology services of the two hospitals will be integrated as well.
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About Narayana Health:
With all super-speciality tertiary care facilities that the medical world offers, Narayana Health is now a one-stop
healthcare destination for all.
From a humble beginning of a 225 bed hospital in 2000, Narayana Health group of hospitals has grown to become
a 6655 beds healthcare conglomerate with 32 hospitals across 20 cities including Health City Cayman Islands in
Grand Cayman (North America).Visit www.narayanahealth.org
About Narayana Health Network, Kolkata:
Narayana Health now serves the people of Kolkata through its chain of 8 network hospitals& clinics in the city
located at Mukundapur (EM Bypass), Salt Lake, Howrah, Hiland Park, Lansdowne and Barasat. Narayana Health’s
unparalleled heart network in Kolkata comprises of five Cath Labs across the city and 43 Cardiac Consultants with
emergency specialists working round the clock to ensure health for all.
About Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Howrah
Narayana Health Group that was managing the cardiac services ofthisunitin Howrah,( previously known as Westbank Health
and Wellness Institute) recently acquired the 240 bedded hospital in November 2014. Apart from comprehensive cancer care
covering medical, radiation and surgical oncology, the unit offers tertiary care services in more than 40 specialities, which
includes Cardiac Sciences, Neurosciences, Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, Urology as well as Medical and Surgical
Gastroenterology.Built as per FGI standards (Facility Guidelines Institute), USA, the hospital has a Centre of Excellence for
Comprehensive Cancer Care and is well-equipped to handle medical emergencies and trauma round the clock.