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Upgrading Cancer Care Treatment In Mauritius

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Government is committed to upgrade cancer care treatment in line with international recognised Cancer Centres. In this endeavour, it has invested heavily in a state-of-the-art modern Cancer Hospital at Solferino which is equipped with latest technologies, and infrastructural works for the construction of the new block has reached 98 %.

This statement was made, this morning, by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, at the opening of a two-day Colorectal Cancer Screening Conference held at Sofitel Imperial Hotel, Flic en Flac.

The New Cancer Centre will offer modern techniques, 3-D conformal Radiotherapy, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Image-Guided Radiation Therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, Stereotactic Radio-Surgery, and HDR-Brachytherapy. The Minister pointed out that a Nuclear Medicine Unit will also be set up in the National Cancer Hospital and that PET-CT scan will be introduced. The Radiology Unit will be equipped with X-Ray, CT-Scan, MRI, Echography and Mammography machines and provisions have already been made for a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Unit and a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, he further said.

Speaking about the incidence of cancer in Mauritius, Dr Jagutpal observed that it is the 3rd leading cause of death accounting for 12,8% of deaths in 2020. According to the National Cancer Registry, more than 2 800 new cancer cases were registered in Mauritius in 2020, namely 1 200 new cases among men and 1 600 cases among women.

He highlighted that the five most common types of cancer in Mauritius among males are prostate, colorectal, lung, stomach and lymphoma. Among females, the most common types of cancer are breast, uterus, colorectal, ovary and cervix uteri and both men and women are vulnerable against colorectal cancer which is the second most common type of cancer in Mauritius in males and the third among females, he added. According to the latest figures in 2020, 154 new cases of colorectal cancer were detected in males and 164 among females in the country.

Health and Welfare Minister Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal
Health and Welfare Minister Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal

He underlined that emphasis is being laid on prevention adding that curative or primary control can lead to less invasive means of treatment and help avoid surgeries. “Early diagnosis through screening activities leads to a better overall survival rate. With the advent of modern technology and new targeted therapy, the quality of life of cancer patients can be greatly improved”, he added.

Screening, he highlighted, offers a unique opportunity to either detect colorectal cancer early or detect pre-cancerous lesions, also known as polyps, and therefore may prevent patients from developing colorectal cancer. Screening is highly cost-effective as it prevents patients from needing surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy, he said.

The Health Minister also spoke of the need to structure our Cervical Cancer Strategy. Emphasis will be laid on investing in HPV Vaccine which will prevent cervical cancer both among boys and girls, he stated.

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