The death of former video jockey Sophiya Haque, 41, recently due to a form of cancer within two weeks of diagnosis, underlines the urgency about the need for quick and appropriate treatment for those suffering from it.

However, a lot of precious time at the moment is wasted in getting advanced confirmatory tests done, for which samples are sent to the United States because of lack of such testing facilities in India or in the neighbouring countries.

The time spent such should ideally be used by doctors in zeroing-in on the best treatment option for the patient that is to be started as early as possible for a better treatment outcome, because of the fast spreading nature of the disease.