DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 26: The Centre has identified a cancer hospital project to be set up at Guwahati, Assam, under the newly-introduced scheme ‘Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East’ (PM-DevINE), in its bid to boost cancer care in the Northeastern region.
Under PM-DevINE, an initial fund of Rs 1,500 crore was allotted from the Union Budget 2022-23, out of which an estimated amount of Rs 129 crore would be spent on establishing ‘dedicated services for the management of paediatric and adult haematolymphoid cancers in Northeast India’, to be located at Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati.
Reports stated that the initiative is expected to provide a boost to cancer care in the region “given that in the last 11 years, 3,855 childhood and adult haematolymphoid cancer patients reported to BBCI for treatment”.
As per the population-based cancer registry of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the incidence of cancer in India is highest in the Northeast.
The national average incidence of cancer every year varies from 90-120 per lakh population, whereas in the Northeast it is as high as 220-270 per lakh population.
As per ICMR, more than 45,000 new cancer patients are detected in the region each year.
More data from the ICMR informs that 95% of patients from Sikkim, 58% from Nagaland, 16% from Manipur and 13% from Meghalaya move out of the region for cancer treatment.
Due to the dearth of adequate facilities in the region, patients travel to other centres across the country.
Under the scheme, the dedicated paediatric oncology block will be established which can offer treatment to nearly 1,000 patients annually for this group of ailments, which in return will significantly reduce the patient expenditure.
(Page News Service)