India offers superior care to Emiratis seeking cancer treatment: Specialist

"People need to exercise, consume healthy food and keep moving. In fact, sitting for long hours is still a lot more harmful than cigarettes," says Dr S Kannan, consultant head neck surgeon at Apollo Specialty Hospital, Chennai.

Most of the Emiratis who travel to India for healthcare services seek treatment for cancer, according to a senior doctor.
Dr S Kannan, consultant head neck surgeon at Apollo Specialty Hospital, Chennai, who also travels to the UAE to see his patients, said that most of the patients from the UAE seek treatment for oral cancer, skull base tumours and thyroid/salivary gland cancers.
"Skull base tumours are the most common kind of cancers for patients travelling from the UAE to India," Dr Kannan told Khaleej Times.
He said that roughly 10-20 such patients seek treatment from him in India. "Now, they need to travel to India for treatment of these complex cancers," he said.
Explaining the reason why Emiratis seek treatment in India, Dr Kannan said that India offers technical expertise for complex surgeries and high-end treatment for radiation and chemotherapy (proton bean).
Head and neck cancer is a group of the disease that starts in the mouth, nose, throat, larynx, sinuses or salivary glands.
Symptoms for head and neck cancer may include a lump or sore that does not heal, a sore throat that does not go away, trouble swallowing, or a change in the voice, explained Dr Kannan.
Though there has been a small drop in tobacco-related cancer, according to Dr Kannan, there is an urgent need to address lifestyle-related issues that cause diseases such as cancer. "People need to exercise, consume healthy food and keep moving. In fact, sitting for long hours is still a lot more harmful than cigarettes," he said.
He also explained that 10 per cent of global cancer deaths are due to head and neck cancer. He added: "In India and South East Asia, 10 per cent of cancers are head and neck while it is only four to five per cent among their American counterparts," he explained.
Of the cancer cases in India, 80 to 90 per cent are caused by tobacco consumption while a small per cent is hereditary in nature. "Tobacco consumption and poor lifestyle choices continue to be one of the leading causes of cancer," said Dr Kannan.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai