CANCER patients undergoing treatment for a serious disease like cancer are now going to be relieved from running around to various departments for different tests and consultations. For this, a ‘Tumor Board’ was inaugurated on Thursday at Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal. In this board, specialists from different departments related to cancer treatment will sit together and discuss the patient’s test report, stage of the disease, and details of the treatment done so far collectively, after which an integrated treatment plan will be prepared for the patient. During the Tumor Board meeting, a detailed discussion will be held on the patient’s biopsy, pathology report, CT scan, MRI, and PET scan report, along with the stage of the disease. Experts will unanimously decide whether surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation should be given first for the patient. The correct sequence of treatment will be decided according to the situation and necessity. Under this system, Tumor Board meetings will be held from Monday to Friday according to various subjects and specialisations. The meetings will be held in the demonstration room of the Gynaecology Outpatient Department, Block-2, and can also be held online or offline as per requirement. The board will include surgical oncology specialists, medical oncology specialists, radiation oncology specialists, radiologists, pathologists, and palliative medicine specialists.

 

Specialists in anaesthesia, medicine, and pulmonary medicine will also participate in the discussion as required. New, recurrent, and complex cancer cases will be taken up for discussion in the board. This will reduce the need for patients to visit different departments repeatedly, and treatment-related decisions can be taken on a single platform with the collective advice of various experts. Along with this initiative, cancer registry, research, medical education, and evaluation of treatment outcomes will also be promoted. The launch of the multidisciplinary Tumor Board at GMC Bhopal is an important step towards providing patient-centered, time-bound, and co-ordinated treatment to cancer patients. Weekly Schedule of Tumor Board: Monday: Gynae, Pedia Tuesday: Surgery & Branches, Uro Wednesday: Ortho, Medicine & Branches, Paediatric Surgery Thursday: ENT, Ophthal, Dental Friday: Pulmonary & Haematology, Others Relief for Patients and Relatives: The time taken by patients to consult different specialists will be saved, along with this, getting the joint opinion of all experts in complex cases will make the treatment more systematic and effective, and relatives will easily understand in which direction and why the patient’s treatment is going, and with a comprehensive report being prepared in one place, the patient will not have to make rounds of the hospital repeatedly.