There are several health conditions that remain a challenge for modern medical science in some ways. If you spare some moments and try to find out about such health issues, you will find that cancer is also among them. Cancer is a disease that severely affects the lifestyle and it becomes fatal in some cases as well. We are going to talk about several aspects of cancer in this article. Let us get this article started with the basic definition first before we start talking about the best cancer hospitals in Mumbai.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is referred to a group of diseases that affect the specific tissues in the human body. It is a disease that can affect any organ present in the body and can spread from one organ to different parts of the body. There are several reasons that make this disease highly complex and dangerous as compared to the others. The reason behind this disease is so dangerous lies in its ability to enable uncontrollable cell division. Cancerous cells develop certain characteristics that are very different from usual cells and the situation becomes equally dangerous for the specific organ or the human body as a whole.
But that is not all. There is a characteristic of cancer that makes it even more fatal and it is the ability of cancerous cells to spread to other healthy tissues. This feature alone makes different organs of the human body susceptible to cancer even though those organs/tissues are not the origins.
Talking of its situation in the world, cancer is the second most common reason for premature death. But thanks to the advancements in the field of screening and treatment processes, the survival rate in different types of cancer is increasing day by day. Any disease comes with certain symptoms and so does cancer. There is a variety of symptoms associated with cancer. And if you are able to identify those symptoms in the beginning, the treatment process becomes easy for the doctors.
Symptoms of Cancer
Knowing about the symptoms of any disease is really important. Because this is the only way to get some idea about certain diseases in the beginning. As cancer may occur in any part of the human body, its symptoms depend a lot on the organ that the cancer has affected. Discussing all the related symptoms is far beyond the scope of this article. But we are trying to give you a broad idea about the major symptoms of gastrointestinal cancer.
In the case of pancreatic cancer
Some symptoms are considered alarming signs of pancreatic cancer. Usually, there are no symptoms in the beginning but the symptoms start appearing when the tumor grows. Here are a few symptoms associated with it.
- Abdominal pain is one of the major symptoms in this case. With the growth of the tumor, abdominal pain becomes more severe. In certain cases, the abdominal pain radiates to the back. The pain might increase when the person lies down.
- In some cases, the abnormal growth of tumors inside the pancreas blocks the bile duct. Jaundice is caused as a result of that. Jaundice is a symptom that appears as a result of some underlying issue. Pancreatic cancer might be a reason behind that in rare cases.
Liver cancer
The liver is a vital organ of the human body with more than 500 functions. It performs some highly critical tasks like filtering out toxins from the human blood, producing bile juice, etc. In several cases, the liver is not the origin instead the presence of cancerous cells in other organs causes liver cancer. Here are some common symptoms you should look for.
- Abdominal pain is one of the most common symptoms in the case of liver cancer. The pain occurs when the tumor becomes significantly large.
- Abdominal swelling appears as a prominent symptom in some cases as well.
- Jaundice is another symptom that points to liver cancer in many cases.
This list of symptoms is not all because there are many others based on the specific conditions of the patients. Contact your doctor immediately whenever you see any of the symptoms that might be a reason behind gastrointestinal cancer. Now that you know about the symptoms and nature of a few cancer types associated with the digestive tract, let us give you some idea about the ways to find the best oncologist in Mumbai.
Finding a good hospital for the treatment of such cancers
There are some features that separate the best from the rest and we will talk about that in this section of the article. There are some techniques that would help you a lot in finding the best ones easily. Here is a list of things you should do to find such an oncologist.
Collect referrals from different sources and research the referrals
You will get a lot of referrals if you consider your family, friends, and most importantly, your primary doctor. Once you have got enough referrals, you have to research those referrals very minutely. You can do it very easily by checking their credentials. Having a proper look at their board certification will help you a lot in knowing about their expertise, training, experience, skills, etc. All these features combine together to make the oncologist able to treat complex cancers.
Gather enough information about the quality of the hospital
The availability of highly advanced resources is very important in this process. Best-in-class hospitals offer better survival rates for patients. Apart from that, you have to consider the location of the hospital. This treatment process will require multiple tests, multiple phases of treatment, etc. In such a case, it would not be convenient on your part to travel a lot.
Option(s) worth considering in Mumbai
Dr. Ganesh Nagarajan is highly skilled and experienced in gastrointestinal oncology. Talking of his achievements and experience so far, He…
- completed a residential training of 4 years (2004-2008) in surgical oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
- holds an MBBS from Bombay University (completed in 2000).
- has obtained a fellowship in Liver transplantation and hepatobiliary pancreatic surgeries.
- is an MS in General Surgery from Bombay University.
These were a few things about his qualifications but this is not all about his expertise. With over 18 years of experience, he is highly skilled in such surgeries. His involvement in scientific surgeries led him to contribute to several prominent international journals. His independent work in above 40 donor liver surgeries under supervision makes him exceptional in this field.
He holds enough skills and expertise to offer the best treatment related to several cancers. Considering him for such treatments is going to help such patients a lot.
