Manipal Hospital Em Bypass Honours Cancer Patients' Journeys and the Developing Potential of Immunotherapy

News Desk, News Nation 360: The Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Care Centre at Manipal Hospital EM Bypass organised ‘Warriors of Life’, an empathetic survivorship forum and clinical symposium for cancer warriors, families, and oncologists to come together, commemorate and celebrate the power of immunotherapy and the life-changing, life-saving resilience it brings to patients. The high-profile event involved a summit-level panel discussion on ‘Are We Close to a Cure for Cancer? Is Immunotherapy the Future?’ was led by HOD & Senior Consultant in Medical Oncology Dr Sudeep Das and witnessed the participation of Senior Consultant Dr Pradip Kumar Mondal, Director of Critical Care Medicine Dr Tanmay Banerjee, Associate Consultant Dr Debdeep Samaddar, and Retired Prof. (Dr.) Kalyan Bhattacharya, who emphasised the transition from non-specific cytotoxic chemotherapy to precise immune checkpoint inhibition as a means of unleashing the power of T-cells to target malignant tumours with minimised undesirable side effects, thus making high-end immuno-oncology therapies accessible to all through biomarker discovery and local production of biosimilars. The session saw an inspiring address by 60-year-old Stage IV cancer survivor Sourav Matiya, who shared his experience of undergoing Chemo-Immunotherapy while continuing to lead an active lifestyle, along with 40-year-old Garfield Jude Pembro, who shared his optimism and positive attitude towards life during immunotherapy.

Pic: Krishnendu Kundu