Cancer deaths are becoming the norm
In recent years the region of Dir has seen an upsurge in cancer cases, which doctors have linked to a variety of reasons. While the provincial government has been led to approve the second revision of the cancer treatment plan for the fiscal year 2019-20 to 2020-21, and strict measures are being taken to curb carcinogenic emissions from factories across K-P, there is yet no realisation of the health care crisis brimming in Upper and Lower Dir.
Per Malakand Division’s former Director of Environment, the rate at which people are developing cancer is a “tremendous tragedy,” for the region.
A survey by The Express Tribune reveals that the concern is also brimming among the public, especially in Dir where deaths from cancer have started painting a grim picture and residents suffer from more terminal illnesses than other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
According to the survey, several deaths from cancer have been reported in residential areas of Dir including districts Bala, Dir pein, Sheringal Tehsil, Temergarh Talash, Tehsil Maidan, Khal, Tehsil Wari Daskor, Tehsil Larjam, Asherai Dara B Bara, and surrounding areas across people of all ages.
A majority of people who are diagnosed for cancer, have to be taken to Peshawar’s Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine (IRNUM) or Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Lahore for treatment, owing to lack of cancer treatment facilities in Dir.
According Category C Hospital Wari’s Medical Superintendents Dr Jahanzeb and Dr Asif Iqbal, among the people shifted to IRNUM and Shaukat Khanum for treatment, most are diagnosed with some kind of cancer infecting their blood, bone, breasts, lungs, brain, liver or prostrate, which presents a distinct variety of cancers.
The former Environmental Assistant Director for Malakand Division associates this spread of cancer to irresponsible disposal of medical and plastic waste, which has been seeping into human environments and acting as a carcinogen.
“Steel mills and other polluting companies in Dargai, Batkhela, Chakdara, and Swat were fined heavily for failing to implement environmentally friendly measures. Two of these factories were also temporarily shut down,” he pointed out, advocating for similar policies to also be applied to Dir.
However, the government is yet to bat an eyelash at Dir’s cancer crisis, while non-government agencies also appear numb to the issue with no mobilisation or cancer awareness campaigns taking place in the region.
Per The Express Tribune’s survey of the region, the village of Daskor has had the most significant number of deaths from cancer so far, which too has somehow remained off the government’s radar along with the Barki village of Khal where cancer has been diagnosed in 18 residents at more or less the same time.
Noor Zaman Kaka, a cancer patient in the same village, is begging for the lives of his four daughters, aged six to twelve.
He realises that several people have already succumbed to cancer in the families of the 18 cancer patients in his village, pointing towards a grave possibility of hereditary transmission of the disease, for which there is yet no control measures in place.
While there is also no official information on what has been causing this growth of cancer, despite Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University’s former vice chancellor promising to form an expert inquiry committee to discover cancer causes in the region.
Opining on the matter, renowned neurologist Dr Shahid Ali believes that the spread of cancer can be associated to sulfur that is present in the hills and mixes with spring water, that much of Dir consumes and utilises. “Although sulfur is not carcinogenic itself, increased consumption may affect damaged parts of the body and increase the risk of cancer.
Whereas the water in much of Dir is supplied via substandard plastic pipes.
The chemicals used in this plastic when mixes with water, can potentially increase the risk of cancer,” he asserted.
However, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has authorised a second revision of the province’s plan for treating impoverished cancer patients.
This, per the chief minister, who approved the plan, is a testament to the government’s dedication to cancer treatment, which includes introduction of new and improved medications and free treatment for all patients on the wait-list.
“The project’s success is due to the cost-sharing system with pharmaceutical firms. In the next three years, medical oncology services will be expanded to Swat, Mingora, Abbottabad, and DI Khan,” claimed Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.
However, health experts and social workers who are cognizant of the issue have been questioning the exclusion of Dir, which is likely dealing with a cancer crisis, from the CM’s big scheme.
“We demand that government and welfare agencies include the Dir district in the next three-year cancer plan and take immediate steps to prevent cancer spread in the region,” exclaimed Syed Anwar Khan, a local activist while speaking to The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2022.