The Government of India and the Karnataka Government will provide Rs 5 crore each to the state-owned oncology healthcare provider Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) to upgrade its dual energy linear accelerator. This would provide the much-needed relief to the scores of cancer patients to access treatment at affordable costs.

The announcement was made at a three-day conference on Emerging Trends in Radiation Oncology (ETRO), organized by Kidwai's department of radiation oncology and the London Radiation Oncology Programme Ontario, Canada.

Elaborating on the plan of updating the existing equipment, Dr. PP Bapsy, director, KMIO and the patron in chief of the seminar said that the linear accelerator would be upgraded with Intensity Modulated Radio Therapy (IMRT) to allow precision radiation delivery to the cancer tumour, while sparing the normal tissues. The upgrading of the equipment is expected to be ready within six months.

The State Government-owned oncology care major is the only institute in the country accredited with the WHO Fellowship in oncology for Asia. It is also the first centre to provide oral morphine for the entire country. The Kidwai Cancer Drugs Foundation procures drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies and is sold at 40 per cent cheaper than the market cost.