Forty-three per cent dip in cancer screening. Forty-four per cent dip in cancer treatment.
A report published by a cancer hospital — known for standing by the poor — showed the effect the pandemic has had on cancer treatment.
The number of patients who registered at the Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre and Research Institute, in Thakurpukur, in 2019-2020 was 9,484. The patients had or suspected having cancer, said hospital officials.
In 2020-21, the number came down to 6,521. Doctors attributed the plunge to the curbs triggered by the pandemic.
In 2019-20, the cancer cases detected at the hospital stood at 7,217. In 2020-21, the number plunged to 4,066, a 43.6 per cent slide.
In 2019-20, the number of cancer patients who received treatment at the hospital stood at 4,101. In 2020-21, the number went down to 2,270, a slide of 44.6 per cent, according to the report published on Thursday.
“Many people could not step out of their homes because of the curbs on transport. The fear of Covid was rampant and even people who could afford private vehicles chose to stay indoors. The fear of Covid forced many people to ignore cancer. Some of the patients had early-stage cancer. But during the pandemic, they did not come for treatment fearing Covid. We have had several such cases in 2020 and 2021,” Arnab Gupta, director of the charitable institute, told The Telegraph.
The situation has improved now but cancer diagnosis and treatment are yet to reach pre-Covid levels, the report suggested.
The number of cancer cases detected and patients treated at the hospital in 2021- 22 was 4,794 and 2,796, respectively, the report said.
The Telegraph has earlier reported on the effect of the pandemic on cancer treatment.
“During the peak of the pandemic, many people were caught between the fear of Covid and cancer. Many people in remote areas could not travel to hospitals even if they wanted to. In cities, many patients chose not to travel. In many cases, first-stage cancer advanced into second or third stages,” said Gautam Mukhopadhyay, a surgical oncologist based in Kolkata.
The Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre and Research Institute is the destination of many marginalised people.
“We conducted 4,012 surgeries in 2019-20. In 2020-21, the number came down to 1,052. In 2021-22, we conducted 2,511 surgeries,” said Samir Bhattacharyya, head of surgical oncology and research at the institute.
