India is one of the most affordable places for cancer treatment in the world. Cancer treatment cost in India is less than a sixth of what it costs to get the same quality of treatment in Western countries like US, UK, Canada, Australia or any other developed country.

Best cancer hospitals in India have the most advanced technology as available at best cancer centres in the world- Novalis Tx, Rapid Arc Radiation, Proton Beam Therapy, Cyberknife, Stereotactic Radiotherapy, IGRT, IMRT, Linear Accelerator, Precision medicine, Immunotherapy are few of the technology and treatment available at these hospitals.

Cost of cancer treatment without insurance in developed countries like United States is extremely high, which prompts people to travel to countries like India for their cancer treatment. For people in US who are covered by insurance, but find the co-pay very high, also choose to travel to India for their treatment. Here's a look at the average costs of cancer treatment in India:

*The costs quoted above are an approximation for planning your medical trip. Exact cost can be determined after the patient is evaluated by the doctors.

Surgery: Surgery to treat lung cancer is considered as the gold standard which is performed to excise the cancerous tumour and the surrounding lung tissue in order to cure the patients when the disease is particularly localized.

The following procedures are performed using VATS (Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery)

Wedge resection or segmental resection: done to remove only the small part of the diseased lung.

Lobectomy: most commonly performed to remove the lobe if the cancer in extensive.

Pneumonectomy: to remove the entire lung if the cancer has invaded all the lobes.

The cost of surgery for lung cancer treatment ranges from US $ 3,000 to $ 7,000

Chemotherapy: It comprises of specialized drugs that destroy the growing cancer cells. The drug may be injected intravenously or can be taken orally in the form of pills.

The cost of chemotherapy for lung cancer ranges from US $ 1,000 to US $ 1,500 per cycle.

Radiation therapy: This uses high powered energy beams like X-ray or protons to kill the cancerous cells. It can either be use as a sole treatment or can be combined with the chemotherapy with or without the surgery.

The cost of radiotherapy ranges from US $ 4,000 to US $ 5,000.

Radiosurgery: The new innovation in radiation therapy is radiosurgery, which is used in very limited patients where tumours are small but undergoing surgery may prove harmful. In such cases, surgery is done using radiosurgery, in which high doses of radiation that are focused precisely on targeted cells in the lungs to kill the cancer cells without harming the nearby tissues.

There are various treatment options for Blood cancer depending upon the medical condition of the patient:

Chemotherapy: This is considered as the main treatment for blood cancer.

Radiation therapy: This is done to shrink the tumour mass which is compressing the important structure of the body. This is mainly employed in cases of localized disease.

Biological therapy: During Biological therapy, the body uses its own immune system to destroy cancer cell. Biological agents like interferon, interleukins, tumour necrosis factors, monoclonal antibodies and colony stimulating factors are used as special immune system cells to stimulate the body's immune system so as to destroy and kill the cancerous cells.

Bone marrow transplants: also known as the stem cell transplant is the most frequently performed procedure for the treatment of leukaemia and lymphomas. During the procedure, damaged bone marrow is replaced with the new and healthy one from either a donor or fromyour body. Bone marrow transplant can be performed in 3 ways:

Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant: During Autologous bone marrow transplant, stem cells are removed from the patient's own body before undergoing the chemotherapy or radiation therapy and are preserved. After the chemo/radiation they are put back in the body to produce normal blood cells.

The cost of Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant rages from US $ 19,000 to US $ 23,000

Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplant: During Allogenic Bone marrow transplant, stem cells are taken from the donor whose genes are partly matching the patient, like a brother or sister can be the best match for the patient.

The cost of Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplant rages from US $ 25,000 to US $ 30,000

Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant: During umbilical cord blood transplant, stem cells are taken from the umbilical cord (which were preserved when the patient was born) and there is no need for matching.

The cost of Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant rages from US $ 28,000 to US $ 30,000

Liver surgery is the most commonly performed procedure for liver cancer. There are mainly two types of surgical procedures:

Partial Hepatectomy: This surgery is indicated only in cases of small tumours and when the liver functions are good. During the procedure, only the tumour and the small portion of the healthy tissue around the tumour is excised as the liver has the tendency to re grow.

The cost of Partial Hepatectomy ranges from US $ 7,000 to US $ 9,000

Liver transplant surgery: Liver transplant is the procedure to remove the diseased liver and replacing it by a healthy and normally functioning liver from the donor.

Liver Transplant cost in India ranges from US $ 40,000 to US $ 42,000

Oral cancer can be treated either by surgery alone or surgery combined with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy depending on the extent and stage of cancer.

Surgery to remove the tumor in mouth is the most common treatment for oral cancer.

Cost of Chemotherapy varies from US $ 1,000 to US $ 1,500 per cycle.

Cost of Radiotherapy varies from US $ 4,000 to US $5,000.

The treatment options for throat cancer treatment are based on many factors, such as the location and stage of throat cancer, the type of cells involved and overall health of the patient.

Surgery is the most common treatment to remove the tumour in the troat. There are various techniques of performing surgery to treat throat cancer:

Surgery for early-stage throat cancer
Surgery to remove all or part of the voice box (laryngectomy)
Surgery to remove part of the throat (pharyngectomy)
Surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes (neck dissection)

The surgery can be followed by Chemotherapy and/or Radiation therapy depeding upon the stage and spread of the disease.

Cost of Chemotherapy varies from US $ 1,000 to US $ 1,500 per cycle.

Cost of Radiotherapy varies from US $ 4,000 to US $ 5,000.

Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to treat disease. Radiotherapy works by destroying cancer cells in the area that’s being treated. Normal cells can also be damaged by radiotherapy, which may cause side effects. Cancer cells cannot repair themselves after radiotherapy, but normal cells usually can.

It can be given both externally and internally.

• External radiotherapy aims high-energy x-rays,gamma rays, electron beams or protons to kill cancer cells at the affected area using a large machine. It is a localised treatment, which means it generally only affects the part of the body where the radiation is targeted.
• Internal radiotherapy involves having radioactive material placed inside the body.Types of internal radiotherapy include brachytherapy, where a temporary or permanent radiation source is put inside the body into or near the cancer; radionuclide therapy, where a radioactive substance is given as a capsule or liquid to swallow or via an injection; and selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), which uses pellets to treat cancer in the liver.

Cost of Radiotherapy treatment in India varies from US $ 4,000 to US $ 5,000 depending on the type of radiotherapy, medical condition of the patient, facility and the city where the treatment is done.