Shimla: The Nuclear Medicine Department at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital has started an advanced PSMA PET Scan facility, providing significant relief to prostate cancer patients across Himachal Pradesh.
With the launch of this facility, patients will no longer have to depend on private diagnostic centres or travel to Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research for specialised scans. The high-tech PET Scan machine, installed at a cost of nearly Rs 21 crore, was inaugurated in April by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Within almost two months of becoming operational, the machine has already been used to conduct PET scans for 145 patients.
A large number of prostate cancer patients seek treatment at the Urology Department of Atal Super Speciality Institute of Medical Sciences. Earlier, many of these patients had to be referred to hospitals outside the state for advanced diagnostic tests, leading to delays in treatment and additional financial burden.
Doctors believe that the availability of this facility at IGMC will help speed up diagnosis and ensure timely treatment for patients. In cancer treatment, time plays a crucial role, and accurate detection during the early stages can be life-saving.
Hundreds of patients visit the Urology OPD at Chamiyana Hospital every day for treatment. Apart from prostate cancer, the PET Scan machine will also help in the detection, staging and treatment monitoring of several other types of cancer.
What is PSMA PET Scan and Why is it Important?
PSMA, or Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET Scan, is considered one of the most advanced and accurate tests for detecting and staging prostate cancer.
In this procedure, a radiopharmaceutical drug is administered to the patient, after which the PET Scan machine clearly identifies cancer cell activity inside the body.
In many cases, MRI scans and routine investigations fail to show the exact condition of the cancer. PSMA PET Scan helps doctors accurately assess the spread of cancer, its activity, and the effectiveness of ongoing treatment.
