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INDIA, Rishikesh, April 28th, 2013
April Clinic 2013
April 28th, 2013, was a day of municipal council elections in Rishikesh. The markets were closed and public transportation was suspended. Even so, 60 patients from Rishikesh, Dehradun, Haridwar, other areas of Tehri Garhwal and ever far off Najibabad managed to make it to the clinic for consultations.

Oncologist Dr Abhinav Dewan from the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, Delhi, led the team of five doctors and one ayurvedacharya in seeing the patients, 20 of whom were cancer patients and seven had symptoms that were indicative of cancer.

Dr Abhinav Dewan, standing in for surgical oncologist and medical director of Ganga Prem Hospice Dr AK Dewan, gave a lot of time to each patient, hearing them out and offering his professional opinion. Gynaecologist Dr Rupali Dewan saw female patients and general physician Dr GS Vats gave consultations to non-cancer patients. Dr Aditi Chaturvedi, specialising in palliative care, counselled some patients who had been diagnosed with cancer and gave consultation to others. Dr Harish Chaturvedi led three meditation sessions for patients and their families during the clinic.

An 11-year old medulloblastoma patient who has lost his vision due to the tumour in his brain was examined thoroughly by Dr Abhinav Dewan. The child was very weak and was brought to the Ganga Prem Hospice clinic in the Hospice ambulance. Another patient whose wife and son were visibly upset with the news of their loved one suffering from cancer were counselled by Dr Aditi and the new Ganga Prem social worker, Usha Aiyer.

Assistant manager Divyae Katiyar handled the registration desk and nurse Sicily Sebastion assisted the doctors. Volunteer Steven Lopresti oversaw the record-keeping while Panchanan Pandey helped with the calling in of patients.

INDIA, Haridwar, April 21st, 2013
Haridwar Community Served by Cancer Clinic
Ganga Prem Hospice organized a charitable cancer clinic in Haridwar on the 21st of April, 2013, where two surgical oncologists, a laparoscopic surgeon and a general surgeon attended to 88 patients.

There were many fresh diagnoses of cancer, and female patients benefitted particularly as an oncololgist specializing in gynaecological cancers was present. Of the 88 patients who attended the clinic, 15 were cancer patients and another 10 were suspected of having cancer. The most common cancers were of the oesophagus, prostate, cervix, breast, base tongue, larynx, and buccal mucosa.

There was a high number of ten suspected cancer patients who had symptoms pointing towards possible breast cancer or oral malignancies. Patients were advised FNACs, biopsies, imaging tests, laryngoscopies, and other tests to determine if they have cancer. Since the host venue, Janjeevan Hospital in Haridwar, had an in-house laboratory facility, patients availed of the discounted service and had some of their tests done on the spot.

Patients came from up to 60 kilometres away from places like Najibabad, Bijnor and Moradabad in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, as also from Roorkee, Laksar, Jwalapur, and Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

Laparoscopic surgeon Dr Sukhvinder Singh Saggu and general surgeon Dr Pallavi Purwar being present, patients could be seen almost as soon as they arrived, and the waiting time for each patient was only a few minutes.

As a follow up of patients seen at the clinic, a breast cancer patient who needed dressing for her arm is being visited regularly by the Ganga Prem Hospice nurse in Haridwar, a suspected larynx cancer patient's laryngoscopy is being sponsored by the Hospice, and a two-year old parotid gland cancer patient's hospitalisation is also being supported partially by Ganga Prem.