Administrative sanction has been accorded for establishing cancer care units in seven districts which do not have medical colleges or cancer centres, Health Minister V S Sivakumar told the Assembly on Thursday.
The sanction was given last month. The units will be opened under the cancer care programme, he said. The state government is also actively considering increasing the pension amount of cancer patients, he said.
As many as 14,287 patients visited the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, during 2011-2012. In 2010-2011, 13,230 patients visited the RCC and 13,040 patients during 2009-2010. 36,284 patients visited the Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC) in 2010.