At the national level, average total cancer care expenditure was around Rs 1,16,218. In private hospitals, the total cost of cancer care was estimated to be Rs 1,41,774, whereas it was comparatively lower at Rs 72,092 in public hospitals
So, yes, cancer treatment is expensive in India as many patients need to seek out loans as they come from low income families and depend on crowd-funding
Then why is it expensive to treat cancer?
There are three driving factors that increase the cost of cancer treatment: people, facilities and technology and drugs. People – Doctors, surgeons, nurses and other healthcare professionals working with cancer patients are highly trained and specialized in their field of study. The National Cancer Institute (located in the USA) calculated the average cost of medical care and drugs tops $42,000 (34,12,730 Indian Rupees) in the year following a cancer diagnosis. Some treatments can exceed $1 million.
Is cancer treatment free in India?
Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. Kidwai Memorial Institute is one of the reputed government hospitals for cancer treatment in India. It provides free treatment to people below the poverty line. level. The hospital is funded by the Indian Government. Here are the top five institutes in India that offer free cancer treatment:
Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra
The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Cancer Aid and Research Foundation (CARF)
Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO), Bangalore, Karnataka
The Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Is cancer covered under health insurance?
Most regular health insurance plans in India cover the insured for hospitalization expenses related to cancer treatment, either as part of the base policy or in the form of add-on riders. Cancer, though a deadly disease, can be cured if diagnosed timely, thanks to growing advancement in medical science and technology.
Why is cancer treatment expensive?
The cost of setting up an oncology unit is often considered as the major reason for the spiraling cost of cancer care. “Today, a linear accelerator costs from Rs 6 crores to Rs 18-19 crores, based on the range of work that it can do. Further, the import duty makes it more expensive.
(excerpt published on 16th April 2015 by www.economictimes.indiatimes.com )
Breast cancer was the most expensive type of cancer ($3.4 billion)[2,76,26,86,82,669 Indian Rupees], followed by lung cancer and colon cancer, both about $1.1 billion(89,38,10,44,393 Indian Rupees). The $4 billion (3,25,02,19,79,611 Indian Rupees) spent on drugs was the most expensive treatment category -- double the cost of cancer surgeries, according to findings published Oct. 6 in JAMA Network Open.(according to the article published on 13-Oct-2021 by www.usnews.com)
Cancer treatments and their prices
Biomarker testing is a way to look for genes, proteins, and other substances (called biomarkers or tumor markers) that can provide information about cancer. Biomarker testing can help you and your doctor choose a cancer treatment. The average price for a biomarker test is $1,700, whereas the average price for drugs used in treating cancer range between $90,000 to over $300,000. While precision medicine and biomarkers are a fairly new option for patients, some research has shown biomarkers have potential to improve treatment costs
Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells.The average cost of Chemotherapy in India is INR Rs. 18,000. The maximum charge for Chemotherapy in India is up to INR Rs. 50,000.
Hormone therapy is a treatment that slows or stops the growth of breast and prostate cancers that use hormones to grow. On average, the typical cost of hormone replacement therapy is somewhere in the range of $30 to $90 per month. The cost of your treatment will depend on a few factors, such as the treatment method you are using and the level of hormones you require in each dose.
Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. The Radiation Therapy Cost in India for Cancer is fromRs.60,000 to 20 lakhs. This price increases according to the number of radiation cycles. If a patient requires the dose of two-cycle radiation, it will cost approximately Rs 2,46,000 approximately.
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Very well articulated. The author throws light on why the treatment is expensive with good reasoning backing up with some thorough research!! Need more articles like this !! Keep going, good effort!!