Mumbai Dental College To Receive Funding For Oral Cancer Care
A dental college in South Mumbai is set to be the first state-funded college in India to receive funding for oral cancer care.
The government-funded college will be the first public dental college in the country to open a specialist oral cancer care unit; the new specialist department will boast an operating theatre and post-surgery ward to provide expert care for people who have been diagnosed with oral cancer.
The state recently announced that funding had been set aside for the project and work is set to begin in the new two years. The project is part of government plans to improve healthcare facilities.
Doctors say that at least 100,000 people die from oral cancer every year in India; currently, patients who are diagnosed with the disease are referred to private hospitals. Doctors believe that the funding for oral cancer care at the public dental college in South Mumbai will make a huge difference to poorer patients.
Dr Mansingh Pawar, Dean of the Government Dental College, said that most patients are referred to Tata Hospital, which is already under significant strain, meaning that patients have to wait a long time for surgery. The new oral cancer unit will enable quicker treatment, which will improve survival rates.
Dr Prajwalit Kende, assistant professor in the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the college, said that the funding would benefit poorer people who cannot afford private medical care.
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