Ain Society will open a second cancer centre to accommodate more patients seeking social therapy and counselling services.

The new centre, to be ready early next year, will occupy the former site of the PAP Community Foundation Education Centre in the void deck of Block 9, Haig Road.

The charity's Eunos centre has seen a rise in the number of cancer patients using its services - from 400 last year to 600 this year, said its president Abdul Malek Osman. This has resulted in a space crunch.

At the charity's annual dinner at Crowne Plaza Hotel yesterday, Mr Abdul Malek said: "I am pleased to announce that with the support of both our medical adviser, Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef, and the Ministry of Social and Family Development, we are given additional space to expand our programme so that we can serve more people in our community."

The 350 sq m facility, while roughly the same size as the existing one in Block 2, Eunos Crescent, will be more spacious as it has fewer obstructing pillars.

This means more room for activities such as dance therapy, Ain Society chief executive Haji Md Yusof Ismail told The Straits Times. He said the $300,000 facility will have counselling rooms, a multi-purpose hall, a children's play area and a resource room with books.

Ain Society provides cancer patients and their families with financial help, counselling, classes and workshops. It also conducts active ageing programmes for the elderly. It has benefited more than 30,000 people since its inception in 2000.

Cancer is the leading cause of death here. According to the Singapore Cancer Registry's Annual Registry Report 2015, it accounted for 29.7 per cent of deaths that year.

It was estimated that the lifetime risk for developing cancer in the population here is approximately one for every four to five people. This is likely to rise as the population ages and more patients live longer thanks to better treatment.