Apollo Hospitals will open a ₹ 750-crore cancer hospital with Proton Therapy Centre in Chennai by 2017.
Addressing media persons , Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospital Groups , said, the dedicated 150-bed oncology hospital will have three-room proton therapy centres apart from the regular facilities.
While first room will start taking patients from early 2017, by the end of that year all the three facilities will be in operation.
Proton Therapy is a radiation treatment that specifically targets tumours, reducing the exposure on the healthy tissues thereby cutting down the possibility of side-effects.
Reddy said far from patients going abroad for treatment, people from over 150 countries will come here. The treatment cost will be ₹9-11 lakh, with about ₹95,000 for investigations.
Apollo will partner the University of Washington for the unit as well as research protocol.
Ramesh Rengan, Medical Director – Seattle Cancer Care Alliance –Proton Therapy Centre, University of Washington, US, said the physicians and trainee doctors from India will be trained in Washington through an exchange programme starting 2016.
Ion Beam Applications SA (IBA), the supplier of the proton therapy applications and services, will train physicians to operate the equipment.