Telangana expands cancer care across all districts to cut travel for treatment

Cancer treatment services are now available in all 33 districts of Telangana to stop patients from having to travel to Hyderabad for care. Health Minister C. Damodar Raja Narasimha shared this update on Tuesday during a review meeting on medical services in government hospitals. New day-care cancer centres now provide local chemotherapy across the State. The government is also setting up Regional Cancer Centres to build better medical infrastructure. Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu, an oncologist and government advisor on cancer care, said 35,000 cases are now logged on the dedicated cancer portal. He noted that making cancer a notifiable disease and using the registry well will help the State track and control the illness. Dr. Nori also praised the State's work in prevention and early detection, pointing to the Human Papillomavirus vaccination drive. Out of 3.4 lakh eligible girls in Telangana, 2.3 lakh have received the HPV vaccine, reaching a coverage of 67 percent. Officials at the meeting told the Minister about treatment facilities at MNJ Cancer Hospital and the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences. Patients start their care at these main hospitals, and local district centres take over follow-up chemotherapy. The Minister told officials to make sure chemotherapy services work well at every district headquarters so patients can get care close to home.

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Expanding specialized medical care to district levels helps reduce the heavy travel and financial burden on patients who previously had to visit major city hospitals for routine procedures like chemotherapy. Tracking health data through registries and state portals allows public health authorities to measure the spread of diseases and plan vaccination drives more effectively.