Introduction
The Department of Medical Oncology is an integral part of SVIMS
University Cancer Centre and has been initiated in June 2001 for the
first time in Rayalaseema. The Department of Medical Oncology offers
comprehensive cancer care and is responsible for diagnosing and
treating all cases of solid tumours and hematological malignancies.
Medical oncology is the subspecialty of oncology which deals with
the medical management of cancer. It treats cancer with anticancer
drugs -chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy,
immunotherapy, etc. The Medical Oncologist determines the proper
choice of drugs, dosage, and schedule of the drug regimen to be
given.
Multidisciplinary team – Back bone of SVIMS cancer centre
Medical Oncology services are provided by a multidisciplinary team.
The team has professionals. This team work towards preventing,
diagnosing and treating cancer by offering the highest levels of
treatment protocols and customised multi-modality therapies and
provides care through all stages of cancer care including supportive
care whenever needed. The department specializes in the treatment of
cancers with chemotherapy and other biological therapies.
Communication between the team members allows the staff to help
patients and family members to understand the treatment and to
finish the course of therapy. The staff encourages the patient and
family members to become active participants in their care through
patient education. The interdisciplinary management of malignant
disease is the standard of care at the SVIMS. Every week oncology
team meets with the surgeons, radiation oncologists, radiologists,
pathologists, nuclear medicine physicists to discuss about patient
management.
Services
The department has been successfully functioning from the SVIMS
Cancer Centre since June 2001. The department is equipped with 70
beds for inpatients, 4 daycare beds, and four ICU beds. Out-patient
services are provided on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and breast
follow-up clinic on Monday. Services for emergencies like
chemotherapy induced febrile neutropenia in a specialized intensive
care unit with intensively trained staff. Intensively trained staff
provides day care and in-patient chemotherapy services. The
department also provides intensive Post Graduate training programme
Cancer screening – for under-privileged and remote rural areas
The SVIMS cancer centre plays a vital role in early diagnosis and
treatment for the under-privileged and remote rural areas by
conducting out-station screening camps with qualified and
well-trained medical personnel.
Cancer Biology
Cancer encompasses many organ systems and their complications.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide
without control and are able to invade adjacent and other tissues.
Normally, cells grow and divide to produce more cells only when the
body needs them. Sometimes, however, cells become abnormal and keep
dividing to form more cells without control or order, creating a
mass of excess tissue called a tumor. Tumors can be malignant
(cancerous) or benign (not cancerous). The cells in malignant tumors
can invade and damage nearby and distant tissues and organs. Cancer
cells can also break away from a malignant tumor and travel through
the bloodstream or lymphatic system to form new tumors in other
parts of the body.
