Maharashtra Plans ‘Cancer Grid’ For Advanced Screening, Treatment

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Maharashtra is developing a large-scale ‘Cancer Grid’ to strengthen cancer treatment services across the state. The initiative would help improve coordination among healthcare institutions and provide patients with more accessible and efficient treatment facilities.”

The Cancer Grid is will make treatment services more efficient, accessible and well-coordinated, ensuring better healthcare support for patients across the state,” the CM said during the inauguration and stone plaque unveiling of the Cancer Hospital under the Public-Private Partnership model, established through the joint initiative of Pune Municipal Corporation and Apulki Healthcare in Pune.

Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis said cancer cases were increasing rapidly across the country and stressed the importance of early diagnosis and timely treatment. He noted that cancer could be completely cured if detected in time, but delays in treatment often resulted in prolonged medical care and high expenses for patients and families.

Keeping this in view, the Central and State governments had included cancer treatment under various public healthcare schemes to ensure that common citizens receive timely and affordable medical care, he added.

According to officials, Maharashtra is witnessing an alarming rise in cancer cases, with an 11% rise reported in the last five years. The Maharashtra Cancer Grid is being developed on the lines of the National Cancer Grid established by the Centre. This initiative entails setting up treatment centers across various regions to provide cancer care. It also involves raising public awareness regarding cancer and providing guidance to ensure the timely diagnosis of the disease.

Furthermore, the grid will maintain records for every patient suffering from this ailment. It will gather specific data regarding the type of cancer affecting each patient, conduct research based on this information, and help determine appropriate treatment protocols. All such comprehensive details will be incorporated into this framework. The objective of this initiative is to make cancer treatment services more robust and easily accessible to patients.

Last year, the Maharashtra Government approved a comprehensive cancer care policy, ensuring access to quality treatment for cancer patients across the state. A three-tier cancer treatment service system will be established, offering specialised care through 18 hospitals.

The state government will also establish the Maharashtra Cancer Care, Research and Education Foundation (MAHACARE Foundation), with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore for capital investment.