Bharath Hospital & Institute of Oncology, a comprehensive cancer care centre, was established in the year 1989, as a unit of Sada Sharada Tumor & Research Institute, Mysore. The hospital, a not for profit organization with a bed strength of hundred and is situated on a sprawling ten acre campus in Mysore. This hospital caters to all the cancer patients from surrounding districts of Karnataka namely Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Kodugu.
The hospital is run by a team of young and dedicated Staff & Oncologists. Oncologists team comprises of Dr. M. S Vishweshwara DMRT MD DNB (Medical Superintendent & Chief Radiation Oncologist), Dr.Y. S Madhavi MD (Senior Radiation Oncologist) & Dr. Vijaykumar M (Surgical Oncologist). Our Pathology lab is run by Dr.Kavitha B MD, an able Onco Pathologist, Dr. Srinivas K G, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Dr. Amogh K.M, MBBS, DNB ( Radiodiagnosis) . A dedicated & experienced Medical Social workers team which assesses the patient and finding the ways to meeting their treatment needs is the specialty of our hospital.
BHIO is a full-fledged cancer hospital with a well-equipped chemotherapy daycare center. Our daycare chemo ward is designed to look after the patients who have been advised short therapies / procedures and do not require night stay in hospital.
Our outpatient clinics offer a wide range of treatment services and diagnostic tests, including minor surgical procedures. Many of our patients are examined and given treatment as outpatients before being admitted to the hospital at a later date as inpatients. When discharged, they may attend the outpatient clinic for follow-up treatment.
BHIO offers good quality and nutritious meals that play a vital role in-patient’s rehabilitation and recovery. Our catering services are cost effective and flexible enough to provide a good choice of nutritional meals that can accommodate patients’ specific dietary requirements and preferences. Our food and beverages are prepared at quality approved standards with equal importance to the hygiene / allergies of the patient / cultural / religious / ethnic requirements along with social / environmental mealtime requirements.
BHIO pharmacy carefully chooses, prepares, stores, compounds and dispenses medications for its patients. Another important aspect is the provision of advice to both patients and other health professionals about the safe and effective use of medicines.
During a medical emergency, even a few minutes can make a difference between life and death. This initial critical period of definitive medical care is called the “Golden Hour”. BHIO’s ambulances are equipped to provide pre-hospital care to stabilise the patient.
Our Intensive care units cater to patients with severe or life-threatening illnesses and injuries, which require constant care, close supervision from life support equipment and medication in order to ensure normal bodily functions.
Our ICUs are staffed by highly trained physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists who specialize in caring for critically ill patients.
Our hospital has approved Blood Bank refrigerators located in the Blood Issue room. Our hospital blood bank is responsible for: Rapid response to urgent requests for blood components, checking pre-transfusion samples and requests, assessing immunological compatibility between donor and patient.
Integrative Oncology at BHIO is committed to delivering high-quality cancer care. The department focuses on improving the patient’s endurance to receive aggressive cancer treatment by enhancing his/her overall well-being & ensuring that the cancer treatment can be more effective and delivered without treatment delays or interruption.
BHIO Dieticians and Nutritionists conduct a full nutrition assessment, understand your food allergies and food preferences, diagnose the dietary and nutrition issues, develop and track a customized Diet and Nutrition Plan for you and help you achieve your health goals. This way you can avoid all your health problems because of a bad diet and can lead a long and happy life.
Cancer staging helps your doctor understand whether or not your cancer has spread locally and study its aggressiveness. This information helps them come up with the best treatment plan for you. The origin and spread of cancer are expressed in four stages – stage 1 to stage 4.
What do different stages of cancer mean?
Stage 1 cancer means early-stage cancer. Based on the levels, cancer would be in more advanced stages between 2, 3 and 4. Usually, stage 4 cancer means the cancer has spread to other organs in the body, and it is also called metastatic cancer. This kind of staging was done a long time ago before the advent of molecular imaging and other advanced diagnostic tools.
Today, with advanced diagnostic procedures in place, we are able to recognise several variations of stage 4 cancers. In recent years, patients with stage 4 cancers are having promising prognostics even if the cancer in one organ has spread to another. For example, patients with breast cancer that has spread to their bones can still live for many years.
Each case is different, and stage 4 cancers are very much treatable in many cases. In every cancer case, it is important for us to understand where the cancer is originating, the areas where it has spread, the degree at which the organ-function is disrupted and the overall condition of the patient. Based on this information, the prognosis can be predicted.
Patients should always have a detailed discussion with the experts and multidisciplinary team
Cancer is a complex disease and receiving the right treatment, the first time is of paramount importance. At BHIO, cancer cases are treated with a multimodal approach. Today, with the availability of advanced diagnostic procedures, genomics and cutting-edge treatment protocols, high-level precision can be achieved both in diagnosis and therapy.
Initially, using testing procedures like tissue diagnosis, imaging and tests for biomarkers, various factors like the type of cancer, its genetic make-up, bio-marker levels, its stage, the site of origin, aggressiveness, its spread and the overall condition of the patient are analysed.
Based on this information, a multidisciplinary team consisting of a pathologist, radiologist, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist collectively decide on the best treatment plan possible for the patient along with the estimation of long-term prognosis. Treatment could be given in the form of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy or other treatment modalities.
Cancer treatment is a team effort of the patient, family members, specialists and the paramedics. At BHIO, all treatments are planned with a goal to achieve a positive clinical outcome and provide a good quality of life for our patients.
A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming for many; however, the patients must understand that cancer is a treatable condition if detected early.
If you are diagnosed with cancer, you must ask the following questions to your doctor for a better understanding of your condition:
Where is the origin of the tumour?
Has the tumour spread anywhere?
What does my diagnostic report show?
What is the best treatment plan for my condition, and what would its goal be?
What would be the response to this treatment plan?
Will the treatment be painful?
What is my long-term prognosis?
What are the possible side effects of this treatment?
What effect will the treatment have on my quality of life?
How can I keep myself healthy during the treatment?
What are the precautions that I should be taking?
Is it hereditary? Will my kids get affected?
How will this treatment affect my daily life? Will I be able to work, exercise, and perform my usual activities?
Can I have a normal diet? Is there any special diet that I should be on?
Do I or my family need psychological counselling?