Announcing the State Budget today, the Finance Minister has announced an Inclusive Cancer Control Programme, wherein the state will partner with Tata Trust. Tweeting about the venture, the Finance Minister said, “The North East Region has a very high cancer incidence and Assam accounts for a majority of these cancer patients. Cancer has become synonymous with death - time has come to address this fallacy”.
According to reports presented by the Minister, almost 60% of all cancer cases in Assam are preventable, and if detected early, lead to better survival rates.
The minister highlighted the State Cancer Institute (SCI) in Guwahati, which is a state-of-the-art hub for cancer treatment & boasts of first Nuclear Medicine facility in the region. The Government is also planning for its expansion so as to make it one of the top cancer institutions in country.
To address the challenges of the region, which largely includes people having to travel far and wide to reach Guwahati in order to avail cancer care, six Government Medical Colleges and 11 District Hospitals will be developed and strengthened by 2019 to provide varying degrees of cancer care.
“We'll partner with the pioneers who bought cancer care to India. Tata Memorial Hospital will be an equal partner in this landmark public health program and it has committed an investment of Rs 830 CR and Assam Govt will contribute Rs 1080 CR over 2 FY,” tweeted the Minister.