TIRANA, Aug. 4 /ATA/ – Albania plans to open nine new regional chemotherapy units in the coming months, expanding access to cancer treatment across the country and easing pressure on the country’s main oncology hospital in Tirana, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said on Tuesday.
The new units are intended to bring specialised cancer care closer to patients’ homes, reducing the need for long-distance travel while improving access to treatment.
The announcement comes as the chemotherapy unit at the Regional Hospital of Elbasan, central Albania, continues to provide daily treatment for cancer patients from the surrounding area.
The facility has been operating since 2017 and has steadily expanded its services, hospital director Zheni Gjergji said.
“From just 14 patients when the unit began operating in 2017, we treated 156 patients in the first six months of 2026 and administered around 256 chemotherapy sessions,” Gjergji said.
She said treatment is delivered in accordance with decisions taken by the hospital’s multidisciplinary tumour board, with the aim of providing safe, high-quality care as close as possible to patients’ places of residence.
The expansion of regional chemotherapy services forms part of the government’s broader effort to decentralise specialised healthcare and improve access to oncology treatment throughout Albania.
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