Innovative Cancer Treatments: How Sammprada Hospital Is Redefining Oncology Care

Most trusted Rajalakshmi hospital continued to serve the society as Sammprada hospital from 2020. Our transformation in 2020 marked a new chapter in our journey towards excellence in medical care. Led by Dr. Radheshyam Naik, one of India’s eminent Medical Oncologists, as the Medical Director, we continue to stand at the forefront of healthcare innovation and compassion.

Dr. Radheshyam Naik, a pioneer with over 30 years in the field of Medical Oncology. He has had an excellent academic career spanning 30 years in managing solid tumours, haematological disorders, BMT and several peer reviewed publications in leading journals.

His special interests include BMT, as well as new drug development and clinical trials. He has pioneered haematology and bone marrow transplantation in Karnataka. He leads the largest and most successful Bone Marrow Transplant Service in Bangalore. Notably, he performed Karnataka’s first intra-arterial chemotherapy through port and is also credited with the state’s first bone marrow transplant. To date, he has completed over 500 bone marrow transplants.

He received advanced training from the world’s leading institutions including M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute, USA, International School for Cancer Care, Oxford, UK, University of New South Wales, Australia.

He has special interest in Bone Marrow Transplant programme and also undergone advanced trainings at Hadassah University, Israel; Detroit medical centre, The New York hospital USA, Cornell Medical centre and at Harper Hospital, Michigan USA.

Sammprada is a boutique cancer hospital with 40 beds. It is located in a serene environment. The infrastructure in the hospital is such that we have very low infection rates. The cancer care system at Sammprada as devised by Dr. Radheshyam, is based on evidence derived from scientific research which in-turn enables effective health outcomes for our patients. Our medical decisions including treatment options are consistent with the needs and preferences of the patients’. They are based on evidence gathered from health services research on care patterns, clinical trials and comparative effectiveness research. The multi-disciplinary team approach for determining the patient’s treatment plan enables informed clinical decision making and adherence to evidence based guidelines. At Sammprada, we don’t believe in one size fits all. Every patient receives an individualised care. We not only take into account the cancer, its stage and biology, we also consider patient related factors, comorbidities, patient wishes and patient psychology while formulating the treatment plan.

Each plan is discussed with the patient and the family before starting the treatment. We give equal importance to avoiding side effects of treatment as much as we focus on efficacy of treatment on cancer. Thereby maintaining highest possible quality of life. We utilise all modern available therapies including chemotherapy, hormone therapy, anti-angiogenic treatment, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. In cases where patients get side effects, we manage it meticulously till the patient recovers. 

We employ innovative methods, including weekly chemotherapy, metronomic chemotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy with anti-angiogenic drugs and immunotherapy, as well as intra-arterial and intracavitary chemotherapy. We also know that cancer is as much a disease of the mind as of the body. So, throughout the treatment we support the patient with psychotherapy and whenever necessary psychiatry help. We believe nutrition plays a vital role in cancer care, so we offer patients a clean, nutritious, and individualized diet. Recognizing the need for spiritual support, we also provide facilities for yoga, pranayama, and dhyana. Additionally, we offer comprehensive supportive and palliative treatment options.

With the multi-modal approach to cancer treatment, nurses play an integral role in offering the complex oncology treatment regimen. Our nurses are highly trained, very skilful and empathetic. The quality of care offered at Sammprada and the nature of patient outcomes are critically determined by the Staff nurse to patient ratio. In principle, we maintain a 1:2 ratio which enables personalized care resulting in patient satisfaction, reduces medication errors, diminishes length of hospital stay and readmissions (due to hospital acquired infections), and minimize patient mortality

We take all necessary precautions to prevent infections in our patients, including maintaining environmental hygiene, ensuring hand hygiene, and isolating infected patients. Whenever patients get infected, we treat them with culture directed anti-bacterial and anti-fungal in an aggressive manner. Our treatment related fatality is one of the lowest in the country. Our motto is to control cancer without sacrificing quality of life.

We gladly use the services of alternative doctors if a patient wishes to enhance their quality of life. We also incorporate alternative medicine forms like Ayurveda and complementary therapies, such as yoga and meditation, alongside conventional allopathic treatment to manage symptoms and improve the quality of life for cancer patients. Such methods also enable relief from other side-effects of cancer such as fatigue, pain and mental health issues.

At Sammprada, beyond specialized medical services, we focus on holistic well-being. Our hospital provides counselling, pain management, nutrition, emotional well-being support, and physical fitness programs. We believe in treating not just the ailment but the individual as a whole, ensuring the best possible care and support

All our consultants do their own clinical audit of the patients they treat to have a continuous improvement in the quality of their treatment. We also publish scientific papers in prestigious Indian and international journals. We also have facilities to do clinical trials.

At Sammprada Hospital, we believe in giving back to the community that has supported us. Through Shobha Trust, our dedicated CSR activities raise awareness about critical diseases and bring medical camps to remote areas, ensuring essential healthcare reaches those in need.

As a boutique hospital, we are among the first to launch a preventive oncology department led by Dr. Vinod Ramani, a specialist in preventive oncology. Our preventive oncology clinic offers individuals the opportunity to assess their cancer risk, undergo relevant screenings, and receive personalized preventive advice. In addition to this we go into the community and do awareness talks and large-scale screening of individuals.

We At Sammprada Believe In The Following Preventive Practices:

• Understand the significance of preventing, rather than treating, cancers.
• Be aware of and able to promote risk-reduction strategies and healthy lifestyle choices.
• Be able to use this information to impact change at a macro and micro level to influence public health reducing incidences of cancer diagnoses.
• To be focused on women in villages. Most of the heath issues in women being malnutrition, osteoporosis, thyroid disorders, and cancer.
• Prevention is better than cure, less expensive than cure.
• We should look at comprehensive health care, with cancer as an indirect focus.
• We should involve government machinery and NGOs for volunteers.
• Focus on common/preventable cancers like oral cancers, breast cancers, uterine cervix cancers, and stomach and lung cancers.
• We focus on preventive measures such as reducing tobacco chewing to prevent oral cancer, annual mammograms and ultrasounds for early breast cancer detection, HPV vaccinations to lower cervical cancer risk, yearly Pap smears for early cervical cancer detection, and Hepatitis B vaccinations to prevent liver cancer.
• Focus on girls to educate them on menstrual hygiene and vaccinations to prevent cervix cancer.
• Genomic testing in people who have a family history of cancer.
• Training the teachers at school, local doctors at PHC for continued evaluation and principles of cancer prevention.