CM Pinarayi Vijayan promises to make Early Cancer Detection Centre a satellite centre

KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday promised to make the Early Cancer Detection Centre (ECDC) at Kaloor a satellite centre of Kochi cancer research centre. He said this while accepting a memorandum from Prof M. K. Sanu during his Navathi celebrations at the Durbar Hall grounds. Prof Sanu, who is also the patron of the Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Movement for the cancer centre, said in the memorandum that currently the ECDC was under the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, and was functioning in a building owned by the Kochi Corporation.

There were moves to shift the centre from the present place which would cause inconvenience to hundreds of patients. Since it is located in the heart of the city and can be easily accessed by patients, it should be retained and given more facilities by constructing a pucca building. A palliative care centre too can come up in the space, he said.

He pointed out that MLAs had come forward to provide money for the centre. By introducing facilities like tele-medicine, the status of the centre can be lifted, he added. At the Navathi celebration, Mr Pinarayi Vijayan described Prof Sanu as a colossus who had a special bond with society where he lived. Actor Mammootty and CPM district secretary P. Rajeev too spoke.