Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday announced that free of cost treatment and free medicines will be provided to cancer patients in the state.    "The state government will provide 42 medicines free of cost to cancer patients in government hospitals for their treatment and these medicines have been included in the states essential medicine list,"  the Chief Minister stated while presiding over the first meeting of the State Advisory Board on Cancer and Palliative Care Program. He said that Himachal Pradesh has come second in the country in cancer cases which is a matter of concern for the state. "In view of this, this revolutionary decision has been taken to provide relief to cancer patients. This facility will be provided in various government hospitals," Sukhu said. These free of cost medicines also include Trastuzumab vaccine used for cancer treatment, which costs about Rs 40 thousand. A breast cancer patient needs 18 such vaccines in a year for treatment. To provide this vaccine, the state government will spend about seven lakh rupees on each patient. These medicines will be made available at the doorsteps of the people in various government hospitals.  Sukhu also approved Rs. 300 crore to strengthen cancer treatment facilities in the state. The government would provide Rs. 75 crore for developing infrastructure of Center of Excellence, Cancer Care Hamirpur. Another Rs. 75 crore for bone marrow transplant facility in Chamiyana, Shimla, and Rs. 150 crore for providing world class cancer treatment equipment in Center of Excellence Hamirpur. The Chief Minister said the state government was setting up cancer day care centers all across the state in a phased manner. In the first phase, cancer day care centers have been set up in 13 hospitals. In the second phase, these centres will be set up in 27 high load civil hospitals and community health centres. In the third phase, cancer day care centres will be set up in 28 institutions. Palliative care units will also be set up in cancer day care centres. He said that world class technology will be adopted in the Cancer Care Centre of Excellence to be set up by the state government in Hamirpur. "A special department of nuclear medicine will be set up here in which a large capacity nuclear lab and cyclotron will also be made available," he added. Sukhu said that the facility of bone marrow transplantation will also be started in Atal Institute Of Medical Super-Specialities, Chamiyana, Shimla. He said that a population based cancer registry will be started in the state. Under this, the cancer cases and number of will be studied. He said that a pilot project will be started in one district for screening of cancer cases.

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