Every year, lakhs of patients travel all the way to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai from Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, and other states for just a few minutes of consultation—many of them from the North-Eastern states. The North East has the highest incidence of cancer, the lowest detection rate, and the lowest survival rate. The region faces additional geographical and resource challenges, including limited access to specialized oncology care. In Manipur alone, as per the National Cancer Registry Programme, every year 1,500 new cancer cases are detected and there are around 10,000 existing cases, which may be grossly underestimated given the low detection rate.
To alleviate the suffering of cancer patients, the Department of Health Services, Government of Manipur, in collaboration with Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai and eGovernments Foundation, is piloting a Cancer Tele-OPD under the National Cancer Grid (NCG) by leveraging the 10BedICU project network. This pilot seeks to deploy an oncology-specific Tele-OPD platform in Manipur, specifically connecting three district hospitals—Ukhrul, Thoubal, and Churchandpur—to Tata Memorial Hospital for oncology consultations. The pilot focuses on three types of cases: Follow-up patients who have been treated at TMH and were in remission at the last physical follow-up, Patients who have completed treatment and are now on follow-up but have symptoms requiring examination and New patients or those seeking a second opinion.
In the long term, the NCG initiative in India aims to enhance the quality and accessibility of cancer care. Apart from providing Oncology specialist, TMH is supporting in setting up the Tele-OPD sites, providing nurses for the OPD, training on NCG protocols on state nominated staff, evaluating the program.eGov will be orchestrating programs including enhancement of CARE software for cancer specific grid.
Though the Tele-OPD consultations began only in July 2025, early feedback from both patients and doctors has been overwhelmingly positive, revealing enormous potential. The quality of consultations is perceived to be on par with physical consultations at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai. “ “For the first time, I spoke to Dr Manju face-to-face. Whenever we went to Mumbai, we tried to get an appointment with her but could only meet her juniors. No long-distance travel, no waiting, no hotel bills—just Dr Manju directly,” says Bimala Devi (name changed), a 43-year-old non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor who had regularly travelled 2,300 km to Mumbai for 10-minute reviews. “We were sceptical and ready to buy tickets if this didn’t work, but it exceeded our expectations. Now we’re staying home.”
Patients also report that the involvement of local hospitals in the process has helped ease language and communication barriers they previously faced while seeking treatment outside the state.“Sometimes we failed to answer or convey what we wanted to tell the doctor during those short consultations at TMH, just because we couldn’t find the right words. But here, the OPD nurse prepared our case summary after a detailed discussion with us, and the Medical Officer at the District Hospital facilitated the entire conversation. We feel genuinely satisfied that we were able to express and say everything we wanted,” shares Bimala Devi’s husband, who had initially come to Thoubal District Hospital silent and sceptical—but left happy and reassured.
The Tele-OPD pilot is showing enormous potential to bring down the financial burden of treatment. “I sold part of my paddy field to cover past trips, spending more than ₹10 lakh,” recalls farmer Sanjoy Laishram (48, diffuse large B‑cell lymphoma). “Because I don’t know the language, I had to hire someone to accompany me and pay him on top of travel and lodging expenses. This time, the nurse at Thoubal District Hospital just dialled the oncologist, translated for me, and I consulted the best without spending anything. My mental load suddenly unloaded.” Mother‑of‑three Rani Ningthoujam jokes, “I won’t have to stay away from my children—and if this continues, I might even afford gold earrings with the money we save.”
Besides reducing financial burden, the Tele-OPD pilot is also mitigating the psychological burden for cancer patients and their caregivers, who previously had to cope with unfamiliar situations that worsened their plight.In Kakching district, octogenarian Thoibi Waikhom smiles at the thought of avoiding the pain and stress of travel and the disruption to her diet during her stay at Mumbai. She says that thanks to the Tele-OPD facility in her home district, she can continue enjoying her fish and no longer needs to be anxious and worried about travelling and eating vegetarian hostel meals in Mumbai.Thirty‑seven‑year‑old Rohit Mayanglambam (acute promyelocytic leukaemia) quotes his TMH doctor’s mantra—“Don’t let your thoughts become the illness.” He says the advice helped him overcome social stigma and the anxiety of planning trips to Mumbai.
