The Karnataka government has announced the launch of daycare chemotherapy centres in 16 districts to improve access to cancer treatment and reduce pressure on tertiary care hospitals. This initiative aims to address the barriers faced by cancer patients, especially those from rural areas who struggle with long-distance travel and repeated hospital visits.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao highlighted the urgent need for decentralized cancer care. Karnataka reports around 70,000 new cancer cases annually, with breast cancer (18%), cervical cancer (14%), oral cancer (12%), lung cancer (8%), and colorectal cancer (6%) being the most common. Alarmingly, the incidence of oral cancer in the state stands at 12 cases per 1 lakh population—higher than the national average—while breast cancer rates reach 35 cases per 1 lakh women.
Statistics from the health department reveal that 60% of cancer patients currently travel over 100 kilometers to access chemotherapy in cities such as Bengaluru, Hubballi, and Mysuru. “We’ve observed high dropout rates of nearly 30% due to the financial and logistical burdens of repeated travel,” Rao stated.
To address this, the new centres will follow a hub-and-spoke model, where tertiary hospitals act as hubs offering advanced diagnostics and complex treatments, and district-level Daycare Chemotherapy Centres (DCCCs) serve as spokes providing outpatient chemotherapy, palliative care, counselling, and basic lab services.
This model is expected to significantly reduce patients’ travel time and lower out-of-pocket expenses by up to 40%, while improving treatment adherence. For hospitals, it will help decongest tertiary centres.
Each DCCC will be staffed with a visiting medical oncologist, two trained nurses, a physician, pharmacist, and counsellor. Drug procurement will be based on standardised protocols under the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST).
The DCCCs will be set up in Bagalkot, Ballari, Bengaluru Urban/Rural, Ramanagara, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Davanagere, Dharwad, Haveri, Kolar, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Udupi, Vijayanagara, and Vijayapura.