Patna: In a significant step towards strengthening oncology services in Bihar, Health Minister Mangal Pandey chaired a high-level meeting at the Health Department auditorium to review the state’s cancer care initiatives. Organised jointly by the Bihar government and the Homi Bhabha Cancer Institute, Muzaffarpur, the meeting focused on enhancing cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and palliative care infrastructure.
Minister Pandey announced that a new Bihar Cancer Care and Research Society will soon be registered to centralise and expand the state’s response to cancer. “This society will work in six key areas including prevention, screening, treatment—covering chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy—palliative care, research, and infrastructure development,” he said. The society’s office will be located at Swasthya Bhawan in Sheikhpura, Patna.
The minister highlighted that cancer screening is currently underway in all 38 districts, with day-care chemotherapy available in 17 districts and palliative care in 23. Free cancer medicines are also being distributed uninterruptedly at district hospitals.
On the prevention front, free HPV vaccination is being administered to girls aged 9 to 14 to protect against cervical cancer. “We are committed to reducing the burden of cancer in Bihar. A 100-bed palliative care hospital is also being set up,” Pandey added.
He also underscored the importance of tobacco control in combating oral and throat cancers, especially in light of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May. “We need a qualitative leap in tobacco control efforts, and the new cancer care society will play an active role in this area too,” he said.
Looking ahead, the government plans to establish cancer hospitals in Begusarai and Nawada districts and expand cancer treatment facilities across all nine divisions of the state within the next three to five years. Pandey noted that the expansion will reduce the need for patients to seek treatment outside the state and improve access to quality oncology services.
Senior health officials including Additional Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit, Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, and representatives from the Bihar Medical Services & Infrastructure Corporation (BMSICL), State Health Committee, and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Muzaffarpur, attended the meeting.
