Ha Noi opens first hospital specialising in treatment of cancer
Ha Noi, Jan. 15 (VNA) -- A hospital specialising in the treatment of tunors will open its doors to patients in Ha Noi tomorrow, Jan.16.
The hospital will be Viet Nam's second offering specialized tumor treatment, the other is in Ho Chi Minh City.
The hospital, in Thanh Nhan Road, the Hai Ba Trung precinct, was created by the opening of a tumor ward at the Hai Ba Trung hospital. It will help share the burden carried by the only Ha Noi-based institution specialising in cancer treatment for patients from northern Viet Nam, hospital K.
The new Government approved Ha Noi tumor hospital will have between 100 and 200 beds and advanced equipment. It will be funded with USD 5 million from preferential Spanish loans matched by the Viet Nam Government.
Provincial hospitals are struggling to cope with cancer because of a dire shortage of special equipment and experienced physicians. Treating cancer is still quite foreign to district or commune medical clinics.
But some progress has been reported.
An increasing number of patients now have easier access to diagnosis and have been successly treated while campaigns to prevent cancer have become more common. International advanced treatments, including photodynamic and chemotherapy, have been introduced.
In 1999-2000, the Government spent VND 70 billion (USD 5.7 million) upgrading four major cancer treatment centres: Hospital K, the Tumor and Cancer Department of the Central Hospital, Hue; the Tumor and Cancer Department of Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Tumor and Cancer Deparment of Thai Nguyen Hospital in the northern mountains.
Viet Nam has between 100,000 and 150,000 new cancer patients each year, but has only two specialised hospitals using obsolete equipment. Between 50,000 to 70,000 Vietnamese die of cancer each year.--VNA
