Guwahati: The Assam government has announced the establishment of 17 Day Care Cancer Centres to strengthen cancer treatment services and improve access to care, particularly for patients in rural and remote areas.
Health Minister Ashok Singhal announced in the Legislative Assembly while responding to a question from MLA Bolin Chetia on measures being taken to prevent and treat cancer among women and children.
Singhal informed the House that the Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF) has considerably expanded the state’s oncology infrastructure over the past few years. Besides the State Cancer Institute (SCI) in Guwahati, specialised cancer centres are currently operational in Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Tezpur, Nagaon and Silchar, offering services such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, cancer surgery and diagnostic facilities.
To make treatment more accessible, the government has approved 17 Day Care Cancer Centres across Assam. Twelve of these have already started functioning at Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Silchar, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Diphu, Goalpara, Tinsukia and Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), while the remaining centres will be opened in phases.
The minister said the new facilities are equipped to provide chemotherapy and follow-up care closer to patients’ homes, helping reduce travel time and treatment costs for cancer patients.
The Assembly was also informed that the ACCF has treated 315 children diagnosed with cancer since 2022. Of these, 113 received treatment at the State Cancer Institute in Guwahati, followed by 81 at Dibrugarh Cancer Centre, 46 at Barpeta, 20 at Tezpur, 19 at Darrang, 18 at Kokrajhar, 11 at Lakhimpur, five at Jorhat and two at Silchar.
Alongside treatment, the government is strengthening cancer prevention through awareness campaigns, mobile medical units and Village Health Outreach Programmes (VHOP) aimed at promoting early detection. The ACCF also conducts free cancer screening camps across the state, while eligible patients receive free medicines under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
Singhal further said the government is promoting HPV vaccination to reduce the risk of cervical cancer among adolescent girls. In addition, Hepatitis B vaccination under the Universal Immunisation Programme is expected to help lower future cases of liver cancer.
The minister said the government’s priority is to ensure timely and affordable cancer care by bringing quality diagnosis and treatment services closer to people, while reducing the financial burden on patients and strengthening Assam’s healthcare infrastructure.