Assam is set to deepen its cancer care network with new treatment facilities coming up in Sivasagar, Nagaon, Dhubri, and Nalbari, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Tuesday, 6 October 2026. The expansion forms the next phase of the state's decentralised cancer care model, designed to bring specialised treatment closer to patients who would otherwise travel long distances to urban centres.

Background and Phased Rollout

The initiative traces its roots to April 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated seven cancer care facilities in Assam and laid foundation stones for seven additional centres. Those additional sites included the four districts now under active development — Sivasagar, Nagaon, Dhubri, and Nalbari — as well as Goalpara, Golaghat, and Tinsukia.

The first phase of the network covered facilities at Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, and Darrang. The network has since grown to include the State Cancer Institute in Guwahati and a cancer care centre in Silchar.

The Assam Cancer Care Foundation Model

The broader framework is driven by the Assam Cancer Care Foundation, established in 2017 as a government initiative to create a multi-level cancer care grid across the state. The model integrates treatment infrastructure with awareness programmes, screening drives, early detection initiatives, and trained healthcare personnel.

Notably, the Foundation envisions a tiered network in which district-level centres are linked to larger, more specialised institutions — reducing both the financial and logistical burden on patients and their families. Assam has been identified as carrying a significant cancer burden, with late detection remaining a persistent challenge in rural and semi-urban areas.

What CM Sarma Said

In a post on X, Chief Minister Sarma described the new centres as the 'next phase' of Assam's cancer care network, reiterating that the state's objective is to make specialised diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care available closer to where patients live. The announcement signals that construction and development of the four centres are actively progressing.

What the Expansion Means for Patients

For residents of Sivasagar, Nagaon, Dhubri, and Nalbari districts — collectively home to millions of people — the new facilities could significantly cut travel time and cost for cancer care. Critics of healthcare delivery in the region have long argued that the concentration of specialised services in Guwahati and a few other urban centres has worsened outcomes for patients who delay or forgo treatment due to distance.

As construction progresses, the completion timeline for the new centres and their full operational capacity will be closely watched by health advocates across the state.