Kidwai peripheral cancer centre nearing completion; relief to patients in Mysuru region

The work for the much-awaited Kidwai Peripheral Cancer Centre is progressing at a brisk pace, and the project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. This would come as a big relief to thousands of cancer patients in the Mysuru region, who have been visiting Bengaluru for treatment.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, around 89,000 new cases are recorded annually, and around 2.5 lakh people are currently living with the disease in Karnataka. It is said that tobacco-related cancers are significant, comprising over 30% of cases treated at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) in Bengaluru.

The cancer cases are rising steadily in the region, and the number of patients visiting Kidwai Hospital in Bengaluru, a government hospital, too, is on the rise, exerting a burden on the hospital. Hence, the patients have to wait for days together to get treatment. As the treatment at private hospitals is expensive, most of the people belonging to the economically lower section and the middle class are dependent on the KMIO.

Hence, in order to lessen the burden on the Kidwai hospital in Bengaluru, the government planned to establish Peripheral Cancer Centres at other places in Karnataka, like Mysuru, Shivamogga, and Tumakuru.

Speaking to DH, Dr. T. Naveen, Director, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, the building is getting completed. In phase one, there will be radiation oncology, medical oncology, and surgical oncology, and they will be expanded further in the coming days. The new centre in Mysuru will definitely ease the burden on the KMIO Bengaluru. The recruitment of manpower and purchasing equipment will be taken up once the building is handed over to the Institute, he said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had launched the works in December 2023. It is progressing at a brisk pace and is expected to be completed by the end of the year and dedicated to the people. Initially, the hospital will start with a 100-bed facility, and expand further in the coming years, said MLA K Harish Gowda, who inspected the works recently.

According to the district-wise data available, cancer prevalence in males was 5,035 cases and 6,839 cases among women in Mysuru district, for the year 2025.Similarly, there were 1,533 males and 2,108 females in Chamarajanagar with cancer prevalence, 2,589 males and 3,512 females in Hassan, and 2,630 males and 3528 female in Mandya district.

Dr Dakshayini, Dean and Director Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI), said that the Institute has handed over five acres of land for establishing the Cancer Peripheral Centre, and KMIO is taking up all the works related to the hospital.

The cancer centre is coming up on five acres of land behind PKTB Sanatorium, on KRS Road. It is said that the hospital is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 123 crore. Around 75% works have been finished. Once it is completed, it will be a boon not only to the people of the Mysuru region but also to the people of Mandya, Hassan, Chamarajanagar, and Kodagu.

There is a unit at K R Hospital, where around 40 patients can be treated every day. Hence, people have to wait for days for their turn for treatment. If Kidwai Hospital is completed, it would help a lot of patients to get their treatment on time, said Vasantha, who is undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

The upcoming hospital will have a registration block, emergency unit, OPD, blood bank, and others on the ground floor, along with the canteen.

General wards, Intensive Care Unit, Operation theatre, laboratories, surgical oncology, pathology, medical oncology, and other departments on the first floor. It will also have the administrative block and conference rooms.