Jaipur: Health department has developed a network of day care centres for cancer patients to make chemotherapy and treatment easily accessible to them. The state has 61 district hospitals in 41 districts, and now each district hospital has a day care centre for chemotherapy. Patients no longer have to travel frequently to the three regional cancer centres in Jaipur, Bikaner, and Jhalawar. They can receive chemotherapy at district hospitals.“We have provided training to doctors at all the 61 district hospitals in chemotherapy and cancer treatment,” said Dr Sunil Singh, state nodal officer (non-communicable diseases).The health department has linked the day care centres with the tertiary care centres in Jaipur, Bikaner, and Jhalawar division-wise. If a patient needs treatment in tertiary centres, the district hospitals will refer the patient to Jaipur, Bikaner, and Jhalawar. Cancer care units have been functioning in 33 district hospitals for the past few years. In 2023-24, these units provided 19,886 chemotherapy sessions, while in 2024-25, the number slightly decreased to 16,356. At these centres, 40,064 cancer patients registered in their OPDs in 2023-24 and 48,943 patients in 2024-25. The health department is strengthening its facilities for cancer treatment as it is one of the leading causes of death in the state. The department is focusing on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion, and awareness generation for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, management, and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility.
