State government starts ambitious programme to treat cancer, in association with Tata Trusts
In an ambitious plan, Assam government in association with Tata Trusts unveiled on Monday a blueprint for 19 modern cancer care facilities in the state. BJP president Amit Shah travelled to the NE state for the ceremony to lay the foundations stones.
Of these 19 facilities, 12 will be comprehensive cancer care centres on the premises of Government Medical Colleges in the state. Located at Barpeta, Dhubri, Diphu, Jorhat, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Silchar, Tezpur, and Tinsukia they will offer diagnosis and treatment of cancer cases. Another five will be adjacent to District Hospitals. Located at Darrang, Goalpara, Golaghat, Haflong, and Sivasagar, they will offer diagnostic and day care services, including chemotherapy. Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, will be upgraded to an apex cancer centre with education and public health research capabilities. The State Cancer Institute (SCI) in Guwahati will be expanded to a 500-bed South Asia Research Centre.
“The number of new cases of all cancers was increased from 155.3 to 188.5 and 102.7 to 165.3 per 100,000 men and women, respectively, from 2007 to 2011”
With a third of the adult population addicted to tobacco, Assam has the highest cancer incidence in the NE. A 2016 article in the Indian Journal of cancer reported that in the cancer registry in Guwahati alone there was a marked increase in cancer cases. “In the last 5-year PBCR (population based cancer registry), Guwahati witnessed a remarkable growth in cancer incidence cases. The number of new cases of all cancers was increased from 155.3 to 188.5 and 102.7 to 165.3 per 100,000 men and women, respectively, from 2007 to 2011 in KUD (Kamrup Urban District).
Speaking on the occasion, Assam CM Sarbanada Sonowal said, “The aim of this great initiative jointly undertaken by the Government of Assam in association with the Tata Trusts is to provide cancer care to marginalised sections of society and bring them some hope. I am very glad that the Tata Trusts have fulfilled their commitment by implementing this initiative as promised. I offer my sincere gratitude to Mr. Ratan Tata on behalf of the people of Assam for his great and philanthropist initiative for the state and the entire North – Eastern region. This initiative will benefit the people across this region, especially those who are marginalised.”
