There is some respite for cancer patients. The government has decided to allocate Rs 2,400 crore for the National Cancer Control
Programme in the 11th five-year plan.

Twenty-seven regional cancer centres and 40 oncology wing institutes run under the programme. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union minister of health and family welfare, said, "In the 11th five-year plan, the allocation of money for this programme is about 10 times more than the previous plan. The focus this time will be on community-based cancer prevention and control strategies, especially on early detection of breast and cervical cancer,'' he said. The health minister also inaugurated a `Cancer Centre on Wheels'-an initiative by Tata Memorial Centre on Sunday.

The mobile van will cover Mumbai and surrounding areas. It will educate and screen about five lakh women for cervical and breast cancer.

Meanwhile, the health ministry has established the `Health Minister's Cancer Patient' to alleviate the financial burden on BPL cancer patients. "The fund has been established by the government with the seed money of Rs 100 crore. Through this fund, a BPL patient can get up to Rs 1 lakh,'' Azad said.

He added that India has a quarter of the world burden with 1,32,000 new cases and 74,000 deaths per year. "This is due to lack of awareness among women. At least one third of all cancers can be prevented and one third can be detected in time and treated,'' Azad said.