this has shown that primary health centres often fail to correctly diagnose diseases such as cancer, and patients are forced to go to tertiary care facilities for a correct diagnosis, treatment and care. “When cancer is detected at an advanced stage, treatment may not be possible, which is why the survival rate is poor here [in the northeastern region],” Chandra said. To get around this problem, the Arunachal Pradesh government decided this March to start screening people for common cancers – of the stomach, liver, breast and cervix. “Stomach and liver are our priorities because the rates are very high here,” Tsering said. But because of the ongoing pandemic, the project did not take off. When it does, it could help save many lives by detecting cancers at early stages, he said.