Treatment of cancer patients continues to be completely ignored by the Punjab Health Department and the provincial government, as there is no cancer research, prevention or treatment centre being run by the government, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The only cancer hospital in the provincial metropolis is a private hospital, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. People from all over Punjab visit public-sector hospitals and after being diagnosed with cancer, they are sent to private-sector hospitals, as the Punjab government runs no cancer hospitals. The last cancer project presented to the Punjab government was in 2008 but since then, the decision of the project remains pending. The cost of the cancer project was estimated to be Rs 1 billion, which was to be split on a 50-50 basis between the Punjab and federal governments. The project was scheduled for start in 2008 to be completed in 24 months to finish in 2010.
As cancer campaigns are being strengthened worldwide by research on cancer cure, treatment and control, the Punjab Health Department seems to be fast asleep as the number of patients being diagnosed with cancer is constantly increasing. The non-presence of cancer specialist centres shows the level of concern that the Punjab government has towards public health and ironically nothing is being done to help ease the situation. Punjab Health Parliamentary Secretary Saeed Elahi said that all teaching hospitals of Punjab have special cancer wards where patients are being treated. He said that research on cancer is being carried out by all medical institutions across Punjab.
According to sources in various hospitals, only two hospitals of Lahore have cancer wards. Except for Mayo and Sir Ganga Ram hospitals, none of the hospitals have functioning cancer wards and surprisingly no Pakistani research paper on cancer has been recognised internationally until now, which shows the level of our research. Lack of consolidated screening, equipment and awareness continues to aggravate cancer figures. Doctors said that the mortality rate is on the rise due to cancer. They claim that patients show up in the last stages, which makes it hard to control the disease. Doctors said that cancer awareness campaigns be conducted by the government along with consolidated screening. Senior doctors claim that cancer cases could not be reduced without proper research on the subject.
