An estimated 300,000 individuals suffer from various types of cancers, but there aren’t enough hospitals
KECH: Cancer is becoming a very prevalent disease in Pakistan. My heart goes out to the poverty-stricken who cannot even imagine affording treatment for this disease. In Pakistan, an estimated 300,000 individuals suffer from various types of cancers, but there aren’t enough hospitals that can cater to this ever-mounting number of patients. According to a report, only 40,000 patients suffering from cancer get treated in the country every year, while the rest wait for their shot at chemotherapy in anguish.
The government seems to be more concerned about making advancements in the field of construction and endorsing other needless projects, rather than striving to meet the basic needs of citizens. Are we expected to leave the comfort of our own country and homes to seek cancer treatment abroad?
I request the government of Pakistan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take serious and immediate measures to tackle this agonising issue — cancer patients are suffering enough already.
Shakeel Phullan
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2016.
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