Himachal govt announces free treatment & medicines for cancer patients
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CM Sukhu says state second in cancer incidence
After discontinuing free HIMCARE treatment for Himachal Pradesh residents in private hospitals, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced in Shimla on Monday (August 5, 2024) that free treatment and free medicines would be provided to cancer patients in the state.
The state government will provide 42 medicines free of cost to cancer patients in government hospitals for their treatment and these medicines have been included in the state’s essential medicine list. This was stated by the Chief Minister while presiding over the first meeting of the State Advisory Board on Cancer and Palliative Care Programme.
He said that the highest number of cancer cases had been reported in the north-eastern states of the country. He said that Himachal Pradesh had come second in the country in cancer cases, which was a matter of concern for the state. “In view of this, this revolutionary decision has been taken to provide relief to cancer patients. This facility will be provided in various government hospitals,” stated the Chief Minister.
These free of cost medicines also include 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. These medicines will be made available at the doorsteps of the people in various government hospitals.
Sukhu also approved Rs 300 crore to strengthen cancer treatment facilities in the state. The government would provide Rs 75 crore for developing infrastructure of Centre of Excellence, Cancer Care, Hamirpur. Another Rs 75 crore for bone marrow transplant facility in Chamiyana, Shimla, and Rs 150 crore for providing world class cancer treatment equipment in Centre of Excellence, Hamirpur.
The Chief Minister said that the state government was giving top priority to public welfare and providing better health facilities was an important part of it. He said that the state government was setting up cancer day care centers all across the state in a phased manner. In the first phase, cancer day care centers have been set up in 13 hospitals. In the second phase, these centres will be set up in 27 high load civil hospitals and community health centres. In the third phase, cancer day care centres will be set up in 28 institutions.
Palliative care units will also be set up in cancer day care centres. He said that 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 large capacity nuclear lab and cyclotron will also be made available,” he added.
The Chief Minister said that the facility of bone marrow transplantation will also be started in Atal Institute of Medical Super-Specialities, Chamiyana, Shimla. He said that population-based cancer registry will be started in the state.
Under this, the cancer cases and number of will be studied. He said that a pilot project will be started in one district for screening of cancer cases. Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil gave valuable suggestions in the meeting.
Secretary of Health M Sudha Devi, Mission Director of the National Health Mission Priyanka Verma, Cancer experts Prof GK Rath, Dr Dinesh Pendharkar, Dr CM Tripathi, Director of Health Dr Gopal Beri, Director of Medical Education Dr Rakesh Sharma and other senior officials attended the meeting.
