Rural Areas Avail Over 75 Pc Cancer Treatments Under PMJAY: Minister

New Delhi: Rural areas in the country have availed over 75 per cent cancer treatments under the government's Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Union Health Minister JP Nadda has informed.

Nadda stated in the Parliament that the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme has enabled more than 68 lakh cancer treatments worth over Rs 13,000 crore across the country.

Of these, more than 4.5 lakh treatments worth over Rs 985 crore were undertaken for “targeted therapies” against cancer. About 76.32 per cent of beneficiaries were from rural areas.

The minister also mentioned about the recently rolled out nationwide screening drive for the management and prevention of non-communicable diseases, like diabetes, hypertension and cancers. The nationwide campaign, valid till March 31, aims to achieve 100 per cent screening of people aged 30 years and above. It is being conducted across Ayushman Arogya Mandir facilities and other healthcare institutions under the NP-NCD framework.

The PMJAY scheme provides treatment for several cancers, including of breast, oral and cervical.

It also provides more than 200 packages with more than 500 procedures of medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology and palliative medicine.

Of these, 37 packages are related to targeted therapies such as chemotherapy for CA Breast, metastatic melanoma, chronic myeloid leukaemia, Burkitt’s Lymphoma, and lung cancer, the minister informed.

Those suffering from cancer and are below the poverty line can also avail of one-time financial assistance of up to Rs 15 lakh, provided under the Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF).