Thane to get its 1st cancer hospital within two years

New Delhi: Thane would soon boast of an advanced cancer treatment hospital, CM Eknath Shinde announced on Sunday. The facility will mostly be operative within two years and is likely to provide relief to patients and their relatives who till now had no option in the public sector but to travel to Mumbai or Navi Mumbai, civic officials said.

The hospital is being jointly developed by the Thane corporation, Tata Memorial Centre and Jain International Trade Organisation. Spread over 1 lakh sq ft, it will have 600 beds along with associated facilities, including OPD and day care centres.

The charges are likely to be on a par with Tata Hospital. Proton beam therapy will be available at affordable rates. "Cancer is a silent killer. The hospital was the need of the hour and once operative will be beneficial for the entire state. This structure was earlier designed as an incubation centre and later modified to accommodate a 1,200-bed Covid hospital," Shinde said, following the ground-breaking ceremony of Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Cancer Hospital by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and spiritual leader Deepakbhai Desai in Saket. Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed concerns about "alarming" cancer projections for 2035. "Cancer not only affects the patient but impacts his entire family," he said.