Day care chemotherapy centres across Karnataka soon: Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao
BENGALURU: To help cancer patients who have to travel long distances for treatment, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Thursday announced that District Day Care Chemotherapy Centres (DCCCs) will soon be opened across the state.
These centres, to be set up under a 'hub-and-spoke model,' aim to decentralise cancer care and bring chemotherapy services closer to patients' homes. Initially, the centres will be established in medical colleges across 16 districts.
Karnataka reports nearly 70,000 cases annually, with breast, cervical, oral, lung, and colorectal cancers being the most common, according to the ICMR-NCRP 2023 data. The minister said 60% of patients have to travel over 100 km to reach chemotherapy centres in Bengaluru, Hubballi, or Mysuru, often leading to treatment drop-out rates of up to 30% due to costs and logistical challenges.
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