Cancer Treatment in India for African Patients: Costs and Care Pathway

Why the pathway matters more than the price list

Cancer treatment is rarely one procedure. It is a sequence: staging scans, a tumour board decision, surgery or radiation, systemic therapy, then surveillance. Families come to grief when each step is priced and booked separately, in different cities, weeks apart.

At Indian comprehensive cancer centres the whole sequence is planned by a multidisciplinary tumour board in the first week, so you know the shape and the cost of the entire course before it begins.

What treatment costs in India

Indicative ranges in USD: PET-CT staging scan 350–500; cancer surgery (major resection) 4,000–9,000; a chemotherapy cycle 400–1,200 depending on the regimen; IMRT/IGRT radiotherapy full course 3,500–6,500; robotic cancer surgery 8,000–13,000; autologous bone marrow transplant 22,000–30,000; allogeneic transplant 30,000–45,000.

Targeted and immunotherapy agents are priced per cycle and vary widely; we obtain the exact drug quotation from the hospital pharmacy before you commit.

Common cancers we coordinate

• Breast cancer — surgery, reconstruction, chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• Cervical and ovarian cancer — radical surgery and chemoradiation
• Head and neck cancer — resection with free-flap reconstruction
• Gastrointestinal and colorectal cancer — laparoscopic and robotic resection
• Blood cancers — leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and bone marrow transplant
• Prostate and bladder cancer — robotic prostatectomy and cystectomy

How long to plan for

Surgery alone: 2 to 3 weeks. Surgery followed by radiotherapy: 8 to 10 weeks. Chemotherapy courses can sometimes be split — the first cycles in India under supervision, the remainder at home under a protocol letter written by the Indian oncologist. We arrange that letter for you.

Visa, travel and staying comfortable

Medical Visas for patients from Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda are granted against a hospital invitation letter, which we obtain within 24 to 48 hours of a doctor's opinion. Two attendants may travel with you.

Because oncology stays are longer, we place families in serviced apartments near the treating centre with a kitchen, laundry and a short walk or ride to daily radiotherapy sessions.

Second opinions are free and worth asking for

Send the biopsy and histopathology report, recent scans and any prior treatment summary. Two Indian oncologists will review it and you will receive a written second opinion with a staged treatment plan and cost — before you spend anything on travel.