Chennai :

About 300 international and national delegates including surgeons, gastroenterologists and oncologists, will participate in the one-day International conference on pancreatic cancer by Apollo Hospitals on February 8.

“With the detection of  pancreatic cancer at an early stage being tougher than detecting other cancers, sensitising people about the disease is of prime importance. This one-day conference will shed light on the disease and its treatment,” said Dr Sathya Bhama, director of Medical Services (DMS), Apollo Hospitals, talking to reporters on Friday.

“Symptoms of pancreatic cancer are deceptive. Most of the symptoms are usually mistaken for gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion, ulcer, uneasiness, abdominal pain, etc. Chances of missing early diagnosis are high due to this camouflaged nature of the disease. In the last 25 years, the hospital has performed about 2,000 pancreatic cancer surgeries,” added  T G Balachander,  senior surgical gastroenterologist at the hospital.

The idea behind conducting such conferences was to educate medical professionals about the latest diagnostic and treatment trends in the field of pancreatic diseases, said the doctors.

Delegates from Singapore, Delhi, Kerala, Mumbai and Coimbatore will be taking part in the conference.

Dr Prasanna Kumar Reddy, senior surgical gastroenterologist of the hospital also spoke about the conference.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 07th, 2015