New cancer daycare centre opens in Dubai

Canadian Specialist Hospital (CSH) announced the opening of the state-of-the-art cancer daycare centre in Dubai in collaboration with Max Healthcare, an Indian healthcare provider.

The specialised advanced centre for cancer care will help patients improve their therapy regimen, as the facility offers personalised care in an ‘unhospital’ like environment.

Patients can return to the comfort of their homes after receiving treatment during the day.

Daycare cancer centres are designed to look after patients who have been advised short therapies and medical procedures and don't require night stay in the hospital.

Initially, the centre will accommodate 10 patients daily and later the capacity will be expanded to 40 a day.

“The centre will provide treatment to a variety of adult and paediatric cancers such as breast, lung, liver, colon, colorectal, stomach, prostate, brain, leukemia, cervix, kidney, pancreas, esophagus, ovarian sarcomas and other common and rare cancers, among the Emiratis, UAE residents and medical tourists to Dubai. Soon, the centre will expand to include surgical oncology services,” said Dr Prasanta Das, an oncologist from Max Health Institute (MHIL), who will be overseeing the centre’s operations.

Daycare chemotherapy would help save both time and cost overruns, he added.

“Patients won’t face any disruption in their daily routine. They can recuperate in the comfort of their homes after receiving treatment during the day,” he said.

Dr Maryam Al Rayssi, the chief operating officer (CEO) of Dubai Hospital, inaugurated the facility. Mohammad Rashid Al Falasi, the chairman of CSH, and other officials and medical professionals attended the programme.

Al Falasi, said, “We are glad to partner with India’s Max Healthcare to open this unique cancer care wing at our hospital. This is aimed at addressing the critical gaps in cancer care in the UAE and the wider region. We are seized of the fact that there is an urgent need for quality treatment for cancer. We are committed to meeting the healthcare needs of the Emiratis and UAE residents alike. We will offer them a range of advanced treatments through our centre of excellence."

Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, the chairman of Max Institute of Cancer Care (MICC) in India, said, “We are glad that we will be providing our expertise in Dubai. Patients will benefit because of this unique collaboration. Initially, we have started with the medical oncology facility. Later, we will extend support by providing surgical oncology. We empathise the complex process of a patient’s journey from the time of diagnosis and planning to implementation and follow-up treatment.”

He added: “We offer treatment that involves multiple specialties (surgical, medical and radiation oncology, molecular oncology, pathology, radiology, palliative oncology, onco-psychology, onco-rehabilitation etc), and the best outcome in any patient can be ensured only if all decisions are taken collectively by all specialists involved.”

An in-house video conferencing facility will help connect MHIL and CSH specialists, who will discuss cancer cases and share knowledge between the two hospitals. The patients at CSH will have full access to the knowledge, skills and processes of MICC.

Dr Ankur Bahl, a senior consultant at MICC, will travel to CSH on a regular basis and will be available at the hospital for in-person consultations.

MICC is one of the largest cancer services in north India, serving over 100,000 and 15,000 out-patients and in-patients, respectively, annually.

MICC has over 90 oncologists and 30 patient navigators.

MICC is one of the first healthcare providers to segregate organ-based treatment modalities called Disease Management Groups (DMGs).