Chennai: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay told the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the state would spend ₹673.44 crore on an expanded “chief minister’s cancer care mission,” as new cancer cases are projected to exceed one lakh a year.The mission is meant to shift the state’s approach from “palliative to curative” treatment by encouraging earlier screening, when tumors are easier to treat and cure, senior health officials said. Early diagnosis improves outcomes and raises survival rates.The urgency reflects a steep trend line — new cancer cases in Tamil Nadu rose to 76,968 in 2021 from 69,517 in 2017, then to 87,156 in 2023, and are projected to top one lakh in 2025 and reach 103,707 in 2026.The state mission combines new infrastructure, doctor training and early-diagnosis programs. As part of it, the government will build a 14-story integrated cancer wing at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital at a cost of ₹471.80 crore, Vijay said. With the Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Kanchipuram serving as the apex center, the state has planned five new regional cancer centers under a hub-and-spoke model. The first, an eight-story facility at Rajaji Government General Hospital in Madurai, will cost ₹84 crore, with similar centers to follow in Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Villupuram, linking smaller hospitals into the network.Although treatment at government hospitals is free, patients continue to pay for travel, food, lodging and lost wages. A 2023 study across 12 districts found median out-of-pocket spending on those costs per radiotherapy session ranged from ₹840 to ₹1,800. Regional centres and smaller hubs are expected to cut those travel-related costs, said Dr Jayashree J, nodal officer for the mission. “Many patients now travel at least 150km for advanced cancer care. In five years, we want to ensure services are available within 50-70km. This will reduce expenditure and drop-out rate and improve outcomes,” she said.Patients still reach hospitals only after the disease has advanced, doctors say, citing delayed diagnosis and limited access to care. “More than 75% of cancer patients in Tamil Nadu are diagnosed in Stage 3 or 4. At that stage, treatment is more complex and costly, and outcomes are poor,” said Dr S Saravanan, head of the Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.Cancer registry data show women bear a disproportionate share of that burden: their crude incidence rate is 102.7 per 100,000, compared with 80.9 for men. The state has set aside ₹8.70 crore for HPV DNA testing of 1.2 lakh women across five districts, targeting cervical cancer, one of the most common cancers among women in Tamil Nadu.Beyond new buildings, ₹106.17 crore will go toward robotic surgery units, linear accelerator radiation machines and other advanced equipment at government medical college hospitals. Another ₹2.77 crore is earmarked for doctor training and nutritional support for patients undergoing treatment.
