Every weekday for five or six weeks, a short session on a treatment couch, a hum from the machine, and home in time for lunch. That is what radiotherapy looks like for most people — undramatic, painless while it happens, and one of the most effective cancer treatments there is. India offers everything from standard radiotherapy to proton therapy. Here is how to tell what you need.
What radiotherapy does
Radiotherapy uses carefully aimed high-energy beams to damage cancer cells so they cannot grow. It can cure some cancers on its own, shrink a tumour before surgery, mop up remaining cells after it, or ease pain from cancer that has spread. Around the world, a large share of people with cancer receive it at some point.
Modern techniques shape the beam to the tumour. IMRT and VMAT vary the beam’s strength across its width; image guidance checks your position before each session; stereotactic treatments deliver a few very precise, high doses. Most courses are given on weekdays, from a single session to several weeks.
You do not feel the beam, and you are not radioactive afterwards — you can hug your family and travel normally. Side effects build up gradually and depend on the part of the body treated: tiredness, skin that turns red and sore like sunburn, a sore throat or mouth for head and neck treatment, or looser bowels for pelvic treatment. Most settle within weeks of finishing. The team checks you every week and has simple remedies for most of them.
Before you travel, ask your current hospital for the full scans on disc, the pathology report and, if you have had radiotherapy before, the exact doses and areas treated. A radiation oncologist cannot safely plan a second course without that record.
Proton therapy: who really needs it
Standard radiotherapy uses X-rays (photons), which pass through the body. Protons release most of their energy at a set depth and then stop, which can spare healthy tissue beyond the tumour. That matters most for children, whose growing tissues are especially sensitive, and for some tumours next to critical structures, such as at the base of the skull or near the spinal cord.
For many common cancers, modern photon radiotherapy gives excellent results at a fraction of the cost, and proton therapy offers no proven extra benefit. A radiation oncologist should explain, for your cancer, what protons would add. Our US$99 consultation includes two calls, so you can ask one specialist and then a second.
| Proton therapy | 36,842 |
|---|---|
| Proton therapy · average reported in 2023 | 31,579 |
| IMRT or VMAT, 15–25 sessions | 1,579 |
Proton: CION Cancer Clinics indicative ₹20–35 lakh (Aug 2026) and ThePrint average about ₹30 lakh (May 2023). Photon course: Livasa Hospitals, Mohali, ₹20,000–1.5 lakh for 15–25 fractions; IMRT/VMAT ₹3,000–8,000 per session (Feb 2026). Converted at ₹95 per US$.
Where it is available
Standard radiotherapy, including IMRT and image guidance, is widely available in Indian cancer centres, including in the Chandigarh tricity. Proton therapy is offered at only a few centres: Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai, which opened in 2019, and Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai, India’s first government proton facility, which began treating patients in 2023.
- 1Chandigarhradiotherapy in the tricity; about 1 hour from Delhi by airOpen in Google Maps ↗
- 2Delhimain international arrival pointOpen in Google Maps ↗
- 3MumbaiTata Memorial Centre — proton therapy since 2023Open in Google Maps ↗
- 4ChennaiApollo Proton Cancer Centre — opened 2019Open in Google Maps ↗
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Tap a name to zoom.
How a course of treatment runs
- Send reports and scansPathology, scans and any earlier treatment
- Radiation oncologist reviewPhotons, protons or another treatment — explained
- Planning scanA CT in the treatment position; sometimes a mould or mask is made
- QorshaynPhysicists and doctors design the beams; usually several days
- Daily sessionsA few minutes of treatment, weekdays, for the prescribed course
- Weekly reviewSide effects checked and managed
- Completion and planFollow-up scans and visits, by video and at home
A five- or six-week course is a long stay, but a calm one. Most people feel well enough to walk, read and visit gardens between sessions, though tiredness often builds towards the end. Our Hoppers long stays start from US$999 a month with three meals, and a family member can stay too.
Su'aalaha la weydiiyo
- What is the aim — cure, shrinking before surgery, or easing symptoms?
- Which technique, how many sessions, and why?
- Would protons offer me a real advantage, and on what evidence?
- What side effects should I expect, and when?
- Can part of my treatment be given at home?
Read our cancer care guide, the story on breast cancer treatment, or book a consultation.
Independent research. Figures are quoted from the official and published sources listed below, as they stood when we checked them (October 2026). BookMedTrip is an independent facilitator and is not affiliated with any government body, hospital, charity or organisation named here, and receives no commission from them. If anything here is out of date or inaccurate, please write to care@bookmedtrip.com and we will correct it.
Su'aalo
How much does proton therapy cost in India?
An indicative full course costs about ₹20–35 lakh (about US$21,000–37,000), according to CION Cancer Clinics (August 2026). Standard IMRT radiotherapy costs far less.
Where is proton therapy available in India?
At a few centres, including Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai (opened 2019) and Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai (since 2023).
Is proton therapy better than normal radiotherapy?
For children and some tumours near critical structures it can spare healthy tissue. For many common cancers, modern photon radiotherapy works as well at much lower cost.
Ilaha
- Livasa Hospitals — breast cancer treatment cost in Mohali, radiation section (27 Feb 2026)
- CION Cancer Clinics — proton therapy in India: availability and cost (Aug 2026)
- ThePrint — Tata Memorial now first govt facility in India to offer proton therapy (16 May 2023)
- The Week — South Asia’s first proton therapy centre opened in Chennai (25 Jan 2019)
- USD/INR exchange rate history, 2026 (Pound Sterling Live) — we convert at ₹95 per US$
