Free Treatment For Children Suffering From Cancer, But People Unaware 

Correspondent

Quetta: Five-year-old Bibi Mujahida used to have large rashes on her neck, knees and chest, and was suffering from severe fever, according to Mujahida’s father Nek Muhammad.

Nek was unaware of the free treatment facility in the provincial capital and took his young daughter to Indus Hospital in Karachi for treatment.

After the necessary tests, it was diagnosed that Mujaheda was suffering from cancer, after which her treatment was started, and now she is better.

Mujahida’s father said that he works in a bank and that financing expensive treatment for her at his current salary was not possible. He brought his daughter to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital, Quetta, where the doctors started her treatment on a regular basis.

The Balochistan government has taken a good step by establishing a cancer ward in Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital, Nek said, adding that now more healthcare facilities should be provided here for patients so that no one has to travel to Karachi or other cities of the country for treatment.

Seven-year-old Muhammad Sulaiman is another youth suffering from colon cancer and is currently under treatment in the hospital. Sulaiman’s father Abdul Razaq, a resident of the Nawan Killi area of Quetta, said that he works as a mechanic to meet household expenses.

Sulaiman was taken to Karachi, where, after three months of treatment, the doctors transferred him to the Children’s Cancer Ward at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital, and now his child’s condition has improved a lot.

Razaq said that accommodation and other expenses were high in Karachi; now the problems of the people of the province have been reduced to a great extent with the establishment of Prevent here.

With the support of the provincial government, Indus Hospital and Health Network Karachi has established a 23-bed children’s cancer ward at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital in Quetta, where more than 300 patients are under treatment.

According to hospital sources, 15 percent of children have been treated and now they visit the hospital for monthly check-ups.

The provincial government has been providing free treatment to those children suffering from different kinds of cancer in Quetta, the Balochistan Times has learned.

However, due to a lack of awareness, people don’t bring their children to the hospital.

With the assistance of the government, Indus Hospital and Health Network authorities have established a children’s cancer ward at the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Hospital in Quetta, where all necessary tests, diagnosis, and complete treatment are being provided for children suffering from cancer.

Every year on February 15, ‘World Childhood Cancer Day’ is celebrated around the world, including Pakistan, to raise awareness about childhood cancer.

Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital Children’s Cancer Ward Consultant Dr Muhammad Adilsaid that due to a lack of awareness, people do not bring their children for treatmentand they fear that it cannot be treated.

Dr Adil added that if we bring the children to the doctor at an early stage, their lives can be saved.

He said that after all the tests and diagnoses of children suffering from cancer, they are admitted to the children’s ward of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Hospital, where they are treated free of charge.

In the children’s cancer ward, a senior medical officer, two consultants, nine doctors, and 19 nursing staff are providing services.

Dr.Adil said that it was a difficult task for the families of the patients to meet the shortage of blood; now a blood bank has been established in the ward to meet the shortage of blood and platelets, and blood is also brought for the patients from the regional blood center.

He stated that cancer symptoms in childreninclude high fever and diarrhoea.It is the responsibility of all of us to spread awareness among the people so that they take it to the doctor immediately after seeing the symptoms of this disease in their children, so that treatment can be done on time.

On the other hand, medical experts say that despite advances in medicine and medical technology, cancer remains a major cause of death among children. Childhood cancer is not only painful but also requires special treatment and care, and paediatric oncology is an important branch of medicine that deals with the treatment of children with cancer.