Hematologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Coming to Hyderabad for blood cancer care from a district | CION Cancer Clinics
Most families do not need to move to Hyderabad for blood cancer treatment. The first assessment, diagnosis and intensive phases usually need you in the city. Many later blood tests, routine transfusions and reviews can often happen nearer home or by phone, if your haematologist agrees. This page explains which visits need the trip, how to plan the first one, and how to keep travel costs down. At CION Cancer Clinics, our haematology team supports patients and families through treatment, cost questions and life at home.
BP
Medically reviewed by Dr. Basudev PokhrelConsultant Haematologist · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
17+specialists on panel
15,000+patients treated
35+centres across Telangana & AP
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On this page
- Do you need to live in Hyderabad for blood cancer treatment?
- Which visits need Hyderabad, and which can happen near home?
- How do you plan the first visit from your district?
- What do district families often get wrong about travelling for care?
- How is the first trip different from later ones?
- How do you manage travel costs and time off work?
- Common questions about travelling for haematology care
The short answer
Do you need to live in Hyderabad for blood cancer treatment?
Usually not for the whole treatment. The first assessment, the diagnosis and the intensive phases often need you in Hyderabad. Many follow-up visits, blood tests and routine transfusions can later happen closer to home, if your haematologist agrees.
Why the first visits are in the city
Confirming a blood cancer can need a bone marrow test, special tests on the blood or marrow cells, and scans. The team then discusses your case and writes a plan. That work is hard to split across towns, so expect the first stretch to need more than one trip.
Why travel changes as treatment goes on
Some treatments, such as intensive chemotherapy for acute leukaemia, mean a long hospital stay. Others, such as tablets for chronic leukaemia or day-care treatment for many lymphomas, mean shorter visits spread out over months. The type of blood cancer shapes your travel more than anything else.
Who this does not suit
If you have just been told a blood count is dangerously low, or you are very unwell, do not plan a long bus journey. Go to the nearest hospital first. Travel planning comes after you are safe.
City or local
Which visits need Hyderabad, and which can happen near home?
This is a general pattern. Your haematologist decides what is safe for you, and it can change during treatment.
Usually in Hyderabad
The steps that need specialist tests, a full team or close watching in hospital.
- First consultation and bone marrow test
- Planning and each change of treatment
- Intensive chemotherapy admissions
- Response checks and scans
Often possible locally
Routine checks that a district hospital or lab can do, with results shared back to your treating team.
- Regular blood counts
- Routine transfusions, once stable
- Wound or line dressings
Sometimes by phone or video
Talking through a new blood report, a small medicine question or how you are coping. Ask whether a teleconsultation is possible before booking a trip.
A phone call does not replace an examination when something new has appeared.Planning the first trip
How do you plan the first visit from your district?
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Share reports before you travel
Send photos of the blood report, any bone marrow or biopsy report and scans to the helpline. The team can tell you which tests to repeat and which to bring, which can save a wasted journey.
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Check your scheme or insurance
Carry your Aarogyasri, EHS, CGHS or ECHS card, or insurance papers. Ask on the phone whether your scheme is accepted for your diagnosis.
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Plan to stay more than one day
Tests and results often spread over several days. Arrange a place to stay before you set out, not after the first appointment.
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Bring one steady family member
Choose the person who will make decisions and handle the paperwork. Two people are easier than a crowd in a waiting area, and cheaper.
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Leave with a written plan
Before going home, ask what happens next, when to return, what can be done locally and who to call. Write it down or ask for it on paper.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
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At home between visits: fever cannot wait
If you are on treatment for a blood cancer and get a fever, shivering, bleeding that will not stop, or sudden breathlessness, go to the nearest emergency department the same day, or call 108. Do not wait to travel to Hyderabad first. Tell the doctor you are on treatment for a blood cancer, then call your treating team.
Commonly believed
What do district families often get wrong about travelling for care?
"We must shift the whole family to Hyderabad."
Very few families need to. Most plans mix stays in the city with long stretches at home. Moving everyone can cost more in rent and lost work than the treatment itself. Ask for the likely pattern before you decide.
"Local doctors cannot help once we are treated in the city."
Your district doctor is an important part of the team. They can check counts, give routine transfusions and spot trouble early. Keep them informed with your latest discharge summary.
"If we miss a follow-up because of travel, it does not matter."
Some follow-ups check whether treatment is working or whether a medicine is causing harm. Missing them can hide a problem. If a trip is truly impossible, call and ask whether a local test or a phone review can fill the gap.
"Every blood report must be done again in the city."
Not always. Recent reports from a reliable lab are often accepted. Some tests do need repeating, for example when a sample needs special handling. Send them ahead and ask.
Side by side
How is the first trip different from later ones?
First trip
Later trips
Plan for several days in the city
Often a single day, or one night
Bring every report you have ever had
Bring the latest counts and discharge summary
Many tests, with results arriving over days
A blood count and a review of how you are
Scheme approval usually starts here
Fresh approval only when the plan changes
The costs nobody lists
How do you manage travel costs and time off work?
Travel, food and stay are rarely covered by schemes, and lost wages are never covered. For a long illness these can become the largest cost. Plan them the way you plan the treatment.
Keep trips few and full
Ask the team to group tests and reviews on the same day when it is safe. Book early morning slots so you can travel back the same evening. Ask whether the next review can be a phone call.
Share the load in the family
Rotate who travels, so one earner does not lose every working day. Keep a single folder of reports that travels with whoever goes. Photograph each page and keep a copy on the phone as well.
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you how many trips your treatment will need, or whether local care is safe for you right now. Those depend on your diagnosis, your counts and how treatment goes. Your haematologist can give you a realistic picture once the plan is set.
CION has centres across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Ask whether any part of your follow-up can happen at a centre nearer home.Questions we are asked
Common questions about travelling for haematology care
Can the first consultation happen without travelling?
A first review of your reports can often start by phone or video, and it helps you know what to bring. A proper examination and tests like a bone marrow test still need you in person. Most families find that reviewing reports first makes the trip shorter and better planned.
Is it safe to travel by bus with low blood counts?
Ask your haematologist before long journeys. With a very low white cell count, crowded places raise infection risk, and with low platelets a fall can cause bleeding. A mask, clean hands, water and a seat near a window help. If you feel unwell, do not travel. Seek care nearby.
Who should come with the patient?
One family member who can stay through the visit, understand the plan and handle paperwork. If the patient is elderly or very weak, a second person may help with the journey. The person who will pay or decide should be there for the planning discussion if at all possible.
Can our local hospital give the chemotherapy?
Some simpler treatments can be given locally in a properly equipped centre, with the plan set in Hyderabad. Intensive treatments usually cannot, because they need close watching and quick access to blood and specialist care. Your haematologist will say which parts are safe to share.
Does Aarogyasri pay for travel?
Schemes generally pay for treatment packages, not for travel, food or stay. A few packages include limited transport, and rules change. Ask the scheme desk what applies to you, and check the current rules rather than relying on what another family was told.
What if something goes wrong at night back home?
Go to the nearest emergency department or call 108. Do not wait to reach Hyderabad. Carry your latest discharge summary so the local doctor knows your diagnosis and treatment. Then inform your treating team as soon as you can, so they can guide the local doctors.
How do we get reports from the local lab to the city team?
Photograph the full report clearly, including the lab name and date, and send it the way your team asks. Keep the paper copy for your folder. Always use the same lab if you can, because reference ranges differ between labs and trends are easier to read.
Can CION help us plan the visits?
Yes. Call the helpline and share your reports. The team can look at what you already have, tell you what to bring, check your scheme and plan appointments to reduce the number of trips. One helpline serves every CION centre.
What moves the figure
What affects the cost
Four things change the total more than anything else.
The technique used
A shaped or image-guided delivery costs more than a conventional one, and is chosen on clinical grounds rather than preference.
How many sessions
The total is driven by the number of sittings or cycles, not by a single per-visit figure.
Supporting tests
Scans, blood work and pathology done alongside treatment are billed separately.
Your cover
Aarogyasri, CGHS, ECHS, EHS or cashless insurance usually change the out-of-pocket figure substantially.
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
Your Haematologist
Meet CION's haematologist. One specialist for your blood report and your plan.
Dr. Basudev Pokhrel reviews blood counts, transfusion needs and blood disorders, and works with the CION tumour board on blood cancers.
Want a specific doctor for your case? Mention them when booking.
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Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. A haematology consultation can be booked at any of these centres through one helpline, and your team will tell you where each test or treatment takes place.
Warangal
Vizag
Sources
- Cancer Research UK — Coping with cancer
- Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society — Blood cancer information and support
- Blood Cancer UK — Blood cancer information and support
- National Health Authority — Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Staying in Hyderabad During a TransplantWhen a longer stay in the city is neededShared Care: Local Transfusions, Central TreatmentHow local and city teams share your careGovernment Support for Blood Cancer in TelanganaCheck your scheme before the first tripBlood cancer guideUnderstand the diagnosis you are travelling for
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Planning a trip to Hyderabad?
Send your reports first. We will tell you what to bring, check your scheme and plan appointments to save you journeys.