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Time of India
23-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
District chemotherapy centres to enhance accessibility
District Day Care Chemotherapy Centres In a significant move aimed at bridging the gap between rural and urban healthcare delivery, the Karnataka government is rolling out(DCCC) across the state under a hub-and-spoke model. The initiative seeks to decentralise cancer care and improve accessibility, particularly for patients in remote per the latest report by the Indian Council of Medical Research–National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP 2023), Karnataka records nearly 70,000 new cancer cases annually. The most common types include breast cancer (18%), cervical cancer (14%), oral cancer (12%), lung cancer (8%), and colorectal cancer (6%). Alarmingly, the incidence rate of oral cancer in the state stands at 12 cases per one lakh population, surpassing the national average. Similarly, breast cancer incidence among women is 35 per lakh, and cervical cancer affects 15 per lakh access to chemotherapy remains a challenge. According to Health Department officials, nearly 60% of cancer patients in Karnataka are forced to travel over 100 km, often to major cities such as Bengaluru, Hubballi, or Mysuru, for chemotherapy sessions. This not only causes logistical strain but also leads to high dropout rates of up to 30%, as patients struggle with the costs and effort involved in repeated hospital official said that the DCCC project has been conceptualised to address these challenges and deliver equitable, cost-effective, and continuous cancer care at the district level. 'The model involves establishing district-level 'spoke'centres connected to tertiary 'hub' hospitals via Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), allowing for shared resources, referrals, and training,' said the this framework, hub hospitals, which are tertiary cancer centres, will continue to provide advanced clinical services such as complex treatments, specialised diagnostics including PET-CT scans and molecular profiling, as well as training and telemedicine support. They will also monitor treatment quality and guide spokes in clinical spoke centres, or DCCCs, will focus on delivering outpatient chemotherapy to stable patients, particularly adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy. These centres will also conduct basic pre-treatment diagnostics, maintain a drug inventory, and provide essential support services such as pain management, counselling, and palliative care. Each unit will have a dedicated medical team, including a visiting medical oncologist, trained nurses, a physician, a pharmacist, and a treatment available within home districts, travel time and expenses will reduce drastically, significantly benefiting patients. The out-of-pocket expenditure is expected to decline by up to 40%, and the convenience of local treatment is likely to enhance adherence and reduce dropout the DCCCs are expected to help decongest tertiary care centres, allowing them to focus on complex cases. The district-level centres will also integrate with national screening programs like the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NPNCD) to ensure early detection and timely DCCC will function according to pre-approved treatment protocols aligned with the essential medicine list of the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST). The performance of these centres will be closely monitored using key indicators such as patient turnout, treatment completion rates, adverse event tracking, and cost comparison with private sector benchmarks, said a Health Department official.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
CM Siddaramaiah to inaugurate Kidwai Memorial's chemotherapy centre in Mysuru on May 23
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology's Day Care Chemotherapy Centre at the District Hospital in Metagalli in Mysuru on May 23. On the occasion, Mr. Siddaramaiah will also virtually inaugurate 15 other Day Care Chemotherapy units across Karnataka as part of the State government's initiative to make chemotherapy facilities available in districts. The District Hospital in Mysuru district will be starting a chemotherapy unit with 10 beds for males and 10 beds for females. The equipment list has been certified by the experts at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru. Any other necessary equipment required for the functioning of the Day Care Chemotherapy Centre shall be made available by the district surgeon, said a statement here on Wednesday. In view of the increasing burden of cancer in Karnataka, the government has proposed to decentralise cancer care services, especially for chemotherapy administration, by following a hub and spoke model. In Mysuru district, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, is the hub, and the district hospital in Mysuru is the spoke. This model is aimed at providing relief to the patients, who currently have to travel long distances to the tertiary care centres, adding significant financial and emotional stress. While the hubs are the tertiary cancer care centres that will handle diagnosis, initial assessment, treatment planning, and the first chemotherapy cycle, spokes are Day Care Chemotherapy Centres at district hospitals that will administer follow-up chemotherapy based on treatment regimen decided by the hub. The day care chemotherapy centres will initially focus on palliative chemotherapy and chemotherapy for solid tumours that include oral cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer at this stage. 'Standardised protocols have been developed by experts at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, for uniform implementation,' the statement added. Karnataka reports approximately 70,000 new cancer cases annually, according to ICMR's National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) 2023 report. While breast cancer accounted for 18 percent of them, cervical cancer accounted for 14 percent, followed by oral cancer at 12 percent and lung cancer at 8 percent, and colorectal cancer at 6 per cent, the report mentioned. While the incidence of oral cancer at 12 cases for every one lakh population is higher than national average, the incidence of breast cancer is put at 35 cases for every one lakh women population. The incidence of cervical cancer is put at 15 cases for every one lakh women population, the statement said. The statement also pointed out that 60 percent of the patients travel more than 100 km for chemotherapy due to centralised services in major cities like Bengaluru, Hubballi and Mysuru and the District Day Care Chemotherapy Centres will not only reduce urban-rural disparity in cancer care and minimise travel and hospitalisation costs for patients, but also prevent treatment abandonment.
