IN THE heart of Egypt’s capital Cairo, thousands of children with cancer receive free treatment at the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357, the largest child cancer hospital in the world.
“My daughter can go back to school now after she received cancer treatment here,” Mahmoud Salama said as his six-year-old daughter received chemotherapy treatment at the hospital.
His daughter suffered from constant headaches four months ago and cannot concentrate well. The doctor gave her tests which showed a benign brain tumour.
“I directly came here after she was diagnosed with the benign brain tumour,” said Salama, who lives in Tanta city, 92 km north of Cairo. “She was carefully diagnosed again and had a surgery to remove some fluids from the skull, within less than 24 hours.”
Although it is a benign tumour, doctors warned that a resection operation might cause difficulties with sight, speech or movement, and suggested chemotherapy to freeze the tumour.
Salama said that the hospital is a great institution for fighting childhood cancer, adding that it provides care of the highest quality for free and without any discrimination.
“I find no words to describe the great treatment and care at the hospital. I paid nothing since I came here although the treatment costs thousands of US dollars,” Salama said.
Shaymaa Mustafa, in her 30s, was carefully observing her five-year-old son, who came to the hospital in August last year, during a chemotherapy session.
“After several tests, my son was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in the brain. He was directly transferred here where he had undergone surgery to remove part of the tumour,” she said.
Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357, with 13 units, is considered a heaven for children not only from Egypt, but also from the Middle East and some African countries.
The hospital, built in 2007, completely depends on donations from Egyptians and people from all over the world through the non-profit Children’s Cancer Hospital Foundation.
The interior furnishings of the hospital utilise natural light, and the selective use of colour is intended to make it appealing to children. The patient rooms are single or semi-private to reduce the risk of infection.
This project helped the hospital achieve a 73,2% overall survival rate of cancer patients, reaching the line of a 75-80% rate usually achieved in Western countries.
It is also pursuing a new healthcare system for more scientific approaches practised in management and treatment.
“We are treating thousands of children and there is a lot of pressure from the patients and the parents. Can you imagine a child coming to our hospital but we have no bed to offer?” said Hanaa Farid, director of the fundraising department of the hospital.
The hospital is speeding up the building of a new campus nearby which will hold five buildings on land that has been allocated by the Egyptian government.
She added that the proton therapy building will have advanced radiotherapy equipment which will minimise side effects. It has a high degree of tumour ablation and will also be available for adult patients.
“This will increase the number of patients coming from the Arab world, from Africa and even from western Europe because this is the only equipment in this area,” she said, adding that it will bring more income to the hospital.
Meanwhile, a health sciences academy building will be available for Egypt and all countries in the region to breed a new generation of healthcare professionals, she said.
The colourful play areas in the hospital are always full of children, with many volunteers who come to breathe hope into the lives of these children through drawing, painting, music and play sessions.
“We are doing our best to ensure free healthcare of a high quality to alleviate the suffering of children with cancer and their families,” Farid said.
– Nampa-Xinhua
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