Key Highlights:

• A layered care model: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma highlighted the state's three-tier cancer care network designed to bring advanced, affordable treatment closer to patients across the state.
• Kokrajhar as a flagship example: The Kokrajhar Cancer Care Centre was cited as a key example, expected to significantly cut travel distances for patients in western Assam and neighbouring areas.
• A regional health challenge: Cancer has become a major public health concern in Assam and the wider Northeast, with patients historically forced to travel to distant cities for specialised care.
• Tata Trusts partnership: The expansion is being carried out in collaboration with Tata Trusts, with cancer care centres coming up at multiple locations across the state.
• Decentralisation as the end goal: The government aims to reduce dependence on a handful of specialised hospitals by building an integrated system covering prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care.

Assam is strengthening its cancer treatment infrastructure through a three-tier cancer care network aimed at bringing advanced and affordable healthcare closer to patients across the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

Sarma, in a post on X, highlighted the ongoing expansion of the state's cancer care grid, saying the initiative was helping patients access quality treatment at affordable prices while also ensuring a more compassionate approach towards patients and their attendants.

He cited the Kokrajhar Cancer Care Centre as an example of the approach being adopted under the state's expanding cancer care network. The three-tier model is designed to create a network of cancer treatment facilities at different levels, allowing patients to receive care closer to their homes while reducing the need to travel long distances for treatment.

Cancer has emerged as a major public health concern in Assam and the wider Northeast, with the region witnessing a significant burden of cancer cases. For years, patients from Assam and neighbouring northeastern states have often had to travel to major cities outside the region for specialised diagnosis and treatment.

The scale of the problem this network was built to address: According to health officials involved in setting up the programme, Assam has historically reported around 52,000 new cancer cases every year, with roughly 70 per cent detected only at the last stage — a delay that pushed the state's cancer mortality rate to an estimated 40-50 per cent. Contributing risk factors identified in the Assamese population include consumption of smoked fish, tobacco use, smoking, and betelnut chewing. Before this network existed, cancer care was concentrated almost entirely in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Silchar, meaning patients from other parts of the state faced travel times of six to ten hours just to reach a treatment centre, with many travelling as far as Delhi, Chennai or Mumbai for specialised care.

How the network is actually structured: The initiative operates under the Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), a not-for-profit partnership between the Assam government and Tata Trusts formed in 2018 — described at the time as the largest public-private partnership in India's healthcare sector. The original plan called for 19 facilities across four levels: 12 comprehensive cancer care centres located on Government Medical College premises (including Barpeta, Dhubri, Diphu, Jorhat, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Silchar, Tezpur and Tinsukia) offering full diagnosis and treatment; 5 centres attached to District Hospitals (Darrang, Goalpara, Golaghat, Haflong and Sivasagar) offering diagnostics and day-care services including chemotherapy; Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh upgraded into an apex centre with education and research capabilities; and the State Cancer Institute in Guwahati expanded into a 500-bed apex research facility. A "Digital Nerve Centre" was also set up at the State Cancer Institute to virtually connect all facilities, helping guide patients from community-level screening up to specialist referral as needed.

Funding for the project has come from multiple sources: the Assam government has contributed upwards of Rs 2,700 crore, Tata Trusts around Rs 1,150-1,180 crore, the Government of India roughly Rs 108 crore toward the State Cancer Institute, and corporate CSR contributions adding a further Rs 81 crore — together making it one of the largest healthcare infrastructure investments undertaken by any Indian state. Seven of the network's hospitals — at Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Tezpur, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar and Darrang — were formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2022, with the remaining facilities brought online in phases since. At full capacity, the 17-hospital network is designed to serve up to 50,000 patients annually, drawing not just from Assam but from neighbouring northeastern states as well.

The state government has therefore been focusing on developing this distributed cancer care system that combines facilities for screening and early detection with centres capable of providing specialised treatment, in partnership with Tata Trusts, with cancer care centres developed at multiple locations across Assam. The broader objective is to create an integrated system covering prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care, making cancer services more accessible in both urban and rural areas.

The Kokrajhar facility is particularly significant for patients in western Assam and adjoining areas, as it reduces the distance patients need to travel for cancer-related services. Sarma's remarks underline the government's emphasis on affordability and patient-centric care alongside expansion of medical infrastructure, with continued focus on strengthening early detection and awareness — since timely diagnosis remains crucial to improving cancer treatment outcomes.

With the three-tier grid being expanded, the government aims to establish a more decentralised cancer care ecosystem, reducing dependence on a few specialised hospitals and making comprehensive cancer services accessible to a larger section of the population.