Cancer patients to get free treatment: Himachal CM

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 5

The state government will provide free of cost treatment and medicines to all cancer patients, said

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while presiding over the first meeting of the State Advisory Board on Cancer and Palliative Care Programme here today

He said that 42 medicines would be provided free of cost to cancer patients in government hospitals. These medicines had been included in the state’s essential medicines list, he added.

Sukhu said, “Himachal Pradesh has been placed second in the country in cancer cases after the northeast, which is a matter of grave concern. In view of this, a decision has been taken to provide free treatment to cancer patients in various government hospitals.” He added that a Rs 75 crore bone marrow transplant facility would be started at the in Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities at Chamiyana here.

The Chief Minister said that these free medicines also included trastuzumab vaccine used for cancer treatment, which costs about Rs 40,000. “A breast cancer patient needs 18 such vaccines in a year for treatment. To provide this vaccine, the state government will spend about Rs 7 lakh on each patient. The medicines will be made available to people in various government hospitals,” he added.

Sukhu also approved Rs 300 crore for strengthening cancer treatment facilities in the state. The government would provide Rs 75 crore for the development of infrastructure at the Centre of Excellence Cancer Care, Hamirpur, and Rs 150 crore for providing world-class cancer treatment equipment at Hamirpur.

He said that a population-based cancer registry would be started where the number of cancer cases would be studied. A pilot project would be started in one district for the screening of cancer cases, he added.

The Chief Minister said, “The state government will set up cancer day care centres all across the state in a phased manner beginning with 13 hospitals. In the second phase, these centres would be set up in 27 high load civil hospitals and community health centres and finally in remaining 28 institutions.”

He added that palliative care units would also be set up in cancer day care centres. “World-class technology will be adopted in the Cancer Care Centre of Excellence to be set up by the state government in Hamirpur. A special department of nuclear medicine will be set up here in which a large capacity nuclear lab and cyclotron will also be made available,” he added. Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil gave his suggestions in the meeting.

42 medicines to be provided in govt hospitals

• As many as 42 medicines will be provided free of cost to cancer patients in government hospitals
• These medicines have been included in the state list of essential medicines
• A ~75 crore bone marrow transplant facility will be started at the Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities at Chamiyana in Shimla
• These free medicines also included trastuzumab vaccine used for cancer treatment, which costs about ~40,000 each
• A population-based cancer registry to be started in the state to study the number of cancer cases