Lanka Hospitals’ Blood Cancer Centre maintains high success rate in treating patients amid pandemic

Lanka Hospitals, the internationally-accredited healthcare provider has received recognition for continually maintaining a high success rate among patients who have had treatment for blood cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic due to stringent safety protocols being followed at the hospital’s Blood Cancer Centre. 

This is due to several new strategies being implemented to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on treatment services at Lanka Hospital’ Blood Cancer Centre. Clinical Haematologist/Haemato-Oncologist, Dr. Saman Hewamana and a team of specialists carried out a study to assess the change in patient attendance and the efficacy of safety measures at the Blood Cancer Centre. These findings were published in September 2021 in the internationally recognised, prestigious PLOS ONE, a journal by PLOS group of publications.  

Blood cancer patients who have been diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma have a higher risk of acquiring infections, which is the main cause of death. Due to the complex nature of their health, those who have blood cancer require the service of a highly dedicated blood cancer unit along with the support of a skilled staff with experience in blood cancer management to ensure a positive outcome. This is even more vital during the COVID-19 pandemic as exposure to COVID-19 could be deadly for those who have blood cancer. 

“COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on blood cancer patients due to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Delay in diagnosis and treatment is likely to cause a spike in the presentation of late-stage cancer. We were able to continue treatment at the Lanka Hospital’ Blood Cancer Centre with no cross-infection and had no patients with COVID-19 symptoms or positive test results entering the unit during the study period,” lead author of the research paper, Dr. Saman Hewamana stated.

“We believe our data reflects the efficacy of stringent measures that are being employed to prevent cross -infections in the ward at Lanka Hospitals where blood cancer patients are being treated. The threat of infection among patients and staff have been taken seriously and we continue safe practices to protect the health and safety of all. The success of the blood cancer centre is likely to be due to the implementation of international guidelines and protocols and because of the comprehensive and supportive team that we have at Lanka Hospitals’ Blood Cancer Centre,” Senior Consultant Oncologist and co-author of the study Dr. Jayantha Balawardena stated.  

“We are very proud of our Blood Cancer Centre and the ability of our blood cancer care team and specialists who have worked hard to maintain a high success rate among blood cancer patients who have received treatment at Lanka Hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a testament to their skill and ability and counts as a great achievement for Lanka Hospitals,” Lanka Hospitals’ Group Chief Executive Officer Deepthi Lokuarachchi stated.