It includes creating mass awareness, early diagnosis and screening, ultra modern treatment and setting up

of a well-equipped research centre.

As part of this strategy, the government will initially set up 15 satellite diagnosis Centres in rural areas at a cost of Rs 10 crore for early detection and screening of cancer. Later, the Gujarat Cancer Society and Research Institute (GCSRI) will set up such centres in each of the districts in the next two years.

State Health Minister Jay Narayan Vyas told mediapersons here on Wednesday that nearly 45,000 fresh cancer cases are reported every year in Gujarat, with about 19,000 patients seeking treatment at the Ahmedabad-based GCSRI-run cancer hospital alone.

The government has already chalked out a plan to expand and modernise this hospital at a cost of Rs 722 crore, which includes increasing the bed capacity from 650 to 1,000 and improving its infrastructure facilities.

Vyas said that to fight the disease, the government has also decided to set up a community oncology centre at Vasna in Ahmedabad at a cost of Rs 20 crore.

Besides, well-equipped blood bank vans will be introduced in rural areas from April this year.

In response to a question, the minister said that of the total cancer patients seeking treatment at cancer hospitals in the state, about 40 per cent are reported to be suffering from mouth cancer.

It is due to the consumption of gutka — prevalent mostly among the youths in the age group of 25-45. Mouth cancer cases are reported more from the Saurashtra region and south Gujarat.

Quoting from a recent survey conducted by a team of cancer experts led by Gujarat Cancer Hospital director Dr Pankaj Shah in Ahmedabad, Vyas said that a village with population

of over 5,000 people consumes tobacco worth about Rs 35 lakh a year.

The minister said the Gujarat Cancer Society and Research Institute with the support of the government would set up a new hospital and a medical college attached to it on the premises of the closed New Swadeshi Mill in Ahmedabad, with an investment of Rs 396 crore.

“With the MCI expected to give its approval soon, the plans are afoot to start the hospital/college by June