Free chemotherapy facility in district hospitals of Bastar and Surguja zone.
Dispatch News.
Raipur. Chemotherapy facilities are now available in 17 district hospitals of the state. Of these 17 hospitals with facilities for day-care chemotherapy, eight are in remote areas like Bastar and Surguja. Due to this, cancer patients of Naxal affected areas and tribal areas of the state are getting an essential facility. During the Covid period, when the public transport facilities were closed due to the lock-down, at that time, this facility operated in different districts, locally present, giving great relief to the cancer patients. The facility of free chemotherapy has also released patients from worrying about the cost of cancer treatment. Free chemotherapy is being given to patients in four district hospitals Dantewada, Narayanpur, Bastar and Kanker of remote Bastar division and Balrampur, Jashpur, Surguja and Surajpur district hospitals of Surguja division. This facility is also available in district hospitals of Balod, Bemetara, Bilaspur, Gariaband, Janjgir, Korba, Mungeli, Raipur and Dhamtari. Chemotherapy facility will be made available in all the district hospitals of the state in a phased manner.
In the last one and a half years, 820 cancer patients have received chemotherapy in these hospitals. 341 in Jagdalpur District Hospital, 294 in Jashpur, 78 in Ambikapur, 24-24 in Kanker and Surajpur, 17 in Raipur, 13 in Narayanpur, ten each in Janjgir and Dhamtari, four in Bemetara, two each in Bilaspur and Dantewada and Chemotherapy of a patient has been done in Balrampur District Hospital during this period. Health Minister T.S. Singhdeo is committed to providing better health facilities in all areas of the state. On his initiative, the Health Department of the State Government and the National Health Mission started the new facilities.
Along with chemotherapy, cancer screening is also available. In the last one and a half years, 2809 persons were screened for cancer. During this, 1260 in Jagdalpur District Hospital, 456 in Dhamtari, 311 in Jashpur, 242 in Raipur, 237 in Surajpur, 102 in Janjgir, 65 in Kanker, 47 in Bilaspur, 31 in Bemetara, 23 in Balrampur, ten in Balod and Ambikapur- Cancer screening has been done in ten people, seven in Dantewada and four in Gariaband District Hospital.