Radiotherapy Cost in Chennai, India

The cost of radiotherapy in Chennai typically ranges from $510 to $4,900 USD (about ₹48,400 to ₹4.65 lakh), depending on the hospital, room category and type of procedure.

A typical estimate for radiotherapy in Chennai is around $1,650 (about ₹1.57 lakh). What you pay depends mainly on your own case. If you need a short course or a standard treatment plan, your bill is likely to be closer to $510 (about ₹48,400). It is likely to be nearer $4,900 (about ₹4.65 lakh) if you need more cycles or sessions, newer medicines or a more advanced technique.

When comparing Chennai packages for radiotherapy, check whether each quote includes:

• Surgeon and anaesthetist fees
• Operating theatre or procedure room
• Planning scans
• Medicines or sessions per cycle
• Hospital stay and room category
• Medicines and consumables
• Follow-up visits before you fly home

Radiotherapy uses high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells, either from a machine outside the body (external) or from a source placed inside the body (internal).

The NHS outlines external radiotherapy, delivered as beams from a machine and leaving no radioactivity in the body, and internal radiotherapy using implants or radioactive liquids, which might involve a short inpatient stay.

Radiotherapy might aim to cure a cancer, help other treatment work, lower the risk of it returning or ease symptoms, and separate pages cover IMRT, IGRT, stereotactic radiosurgery and proton therapy.

The NHS sets out tiredness, sore or darkened skin, hair loss in the treated area, sickness and a sore mouth, depending on the area treated.

Most effects settle once treatment has finished.

Fitness to fly: travel between treatments or after a course depends on blood counts and side effects, so the oncology team will advise.

In Chennai, the price of radiotherapy is generally built from these parts:

• Number of cycles or sessions: which drives most of the cost.
• Drugs or radiotherapy technique: the brand and dose, or the machine and method.
• Type: external or internal.
• Technique: such as IMRT or IGRT.
• Sessions: one to a number of weeks.
• Planning: scans and immobilisation.

Radiotherapy is priced per course, so check that the Chennai costing sets out planning scans, every session, imaging checks and doctor reviews.

Cancer treatment in Chennai is generally planned by hospital oncology teams in which surgical, medical and radiation oncologists discuss each case together at a tumour board.

Hospitals in Chennai can hold NABH accreditation, India's national quality standard set by a board of the Quality Council of India and itself accredited by ISQua, and the NABH website shows whether an accreditation is still valid.

Joint Commission International (JCI) accredits a number of Indian hospitals, and its public directory lets you check whether a Chennai hospital on your shortlist is currently included.

Foreign patients can apply online for an Indian e-Medical visa, and family members who travel with them for an e-Medical Attendant visa; the official visa website lists the current conditions.