Hope 2011

hope Autumn 2011

A Newsletter for the Friends of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre

I BEAT CANCER Because of you ...

Sadia came to SKMCH&RC in 2008. She was diagnosed with leukemia. After nearly two and a half years of treatment, Sadia beat cancer in 2010.

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre

HOSPITAL NEWS

Expanding Our Wings

Dr. Faisal Sultan, CEO, SKMCH&RC said, “We were in need of the addition of more inpatient beds. Our occupancy was consistently between 85 and 90 per cent, so inpatient admissions had reached a saturation point and we recognised that we needed to expand. These two new inpatient units will allow us to take in more patients and help them in their fight against cancer.”

Mr. Imran Khan, Chairman, Board of Governors, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, spoke at the event to an audience of donors who had contributed to the ward extension, thanking them for their support in achieving this milestone.

M

arking its most significant expansion since its inception in 1994, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research

Centre (SKMCH&RC) inaugurated two new inpatient wings in September, increasing the number of patient beds from 102 to 186.

Located on the second and third floors of the Services Building, all rooms are standardised with the same features as the rest of the Hospital.

SPECIAL VISITORS

US Ambassador, Wife Bring Smiles to Child Patients

D

uring his visit to Lahore, US Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr. Cameron Munter, visited the Hospital, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Marilyn Wyatt and Consul General for Lahore, Nina Fite. Dr. Faisal Sultan, CEO, SKMCH&RC and Dr. Aasim Yusuf, Medical Director, SKMCH&RC, highlighted the Hospital’s performance and its future plans with a presentation to the guests.

As parents who have had the experience of a child with cancer, Ambassador Munter and Dr. Wyatt spent time with patients in the paediatric chemotherapy bay, handing out gifts and toys and praising the resilience and

2

HOPE AUTUMN 2011

strength of their parents. The Ambassador and his wife walked through the Hospital’s laboratory and visited the inpatient and outpatient departments.

Ambassador Munter expressed his appreciation for the Hospital’s stateof-the-art facilities and services. He said, “SKMCH&RC is truly serving the greater humanitarian cause. I am glad that it is working in research and other medical fields with various international institutions and should extend its collaboration with healthcare institutes in the US.” He also conveyed that he along with the US government would be pleased to provide any assistance in this regard.

Top: Dr. Marilyn Wyatt, wife of US Ambassador, Cameron Munter, shares a special moment with a child patient in the chemotherapy bay at SKMCH&RC. Bottom: The US Ambassador with SKMCH&RC senior management.

SHAUKAT KHANUM MEMORIAL CANCER HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE

SPREADING AWARENESS

Let’s Spread the Message: Breast Cancer is Curable

Left to Right: Television actress, Sania Saeed, asks a question of Dr. Neelam Siddiqui and Dr. Amina Iqbal Khan at the SKMCH&RC breast cancer event.

Participants at an awareness session held at the Hospital. Film actress, Reema Khan, is surrounded by the students of Queen Mary College.

Wajood-e-zun se hai Tasveer kayanaat mein rang ‘Gar mit jaaye ye wajood Toh beh rang lage jahan sara

T

hese lyrical words of national poet, Allama Iqbal, resonated in over 35 colleges and 10 corporate entities all over Pakistan with 10,000 individuals in attendance, where SKMCH&RC travelled with its Breast Cancer Awareness 2011 campaign, sponsored by Pond’s, Arif Habib Corporation and Roche.

Pakistan reports one of the highest rates of breast cancer in Asia with almost 1 out 9 women affected. Most women are diagnosed when the disease is at an advanced stage and almost 40,000 women die each year.

Asian cultures are generally more conservative than the West. Women often feel embarrassed to discuss intimate parts of their body and thus, avoid going to the doctor. It is also taboo to touch one’s self and so the simplest form of noticing the disease, self-examination, never takes place.

A study by SKMCH&RC researchers, published in the European Journal of Oncology in 2010, delved further into

the issue, surveying 36 Pakistani Muslim breast cancer patients. The study revealed that some women thought that cancer was a blood disorder; they did not even know that it could occur in the breast. Other women believed it was incurable and the only treatment available was a mastectomy or removal of the breast.

Speaking at the Hospital’s breast cancer event, Dr. Neelam Siddiqui, Consultant Medical Oncologist, said that this is far from true. Modern medicine has made significant strides in the treatment of breast cancer and SKMCH&RC has kept up with these developments. Today, the Hospital uses multiple methods of treatment including radiation therapy (the use of high-energy radiation) and targeted therapy (the use of drugs to block the growth and spread of cancer), aside from traditional chemotherapy and surgery.

Yet, these treatments are not enough and the real challenge is to change the Pakistani mindset. Dr. Mazhar Ali Shah, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, also mentioned that even men need to cooperate, above all in rural areas, where a gender divide still exists and women are denied a visit to a doctor.

NOW DONATE ONLINE, LEARN MORE AT: www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk

The study by Hospital researchers concluded that more awareness programmes, mainly in communities with limited exposure to health education, are needed and that nurses can play a vital role; they can offer both educational and emotional support to patients from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Increasing awareness is the main goal of SKMCH&RC but by spreading the message to all young women. Television actress Sania Saeed told the audience of students and teachers that women tend to forget to pay attention to themselves – falling into their natural roles as caregivers but failing to take time out for their own health. She said, “The breast is just like any other organ, a leg or hand, and it can get just as diseased. We need to start looking at ourselves with dignity and should not confuse ignorance with modesty.”

Film actress Reema Khan also called on the students to become responsible for themselves and to pass the message on to other women in their community that they should not let a curable disease conquer their life. Both Sania Saeed and Reema Khan were the Brand Ambassadors for the campaign.

3

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

Five Students Receive University of Bradford Degrees

Mrs. Shirley Congdon, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Bradford awards Saher Tanvir her BSc (Hons) degree. Ms. Tanvir topped the Lahore cohort.

F

ive students were awarded their BSc (Hons) in Medical Imaging by the University of Bradford in collaboration with SKMCH&RC at a ceremony held on the Hospital premises. Saher Tanvir topped the Lahore cohort, receiving a first class, first division. Thirteen students have graduated from the joint programme till date, three of these students have subsequently received international scholarships to train further in medical imaging.

Mr. Imran Khan, Chancellor, University of Bradford and Chairman, Board of Governors, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, congratulated the students and advised them to use this education towards the development and betterment of their nation. He thanked the University of Bradford and the efforts of its faculty to teach the students.

Mr. Khan also acknowledged the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) in imparting quality postgraduate medical education in the country under the leadership of Professor Zafar Ullah Chaudhry, President, CPSP, who was the guest speaker at the ceremony. During his address to the students, Professor Chaudhry recognised SKMCH&RC and its active involvement in training specialist manpower in Pakistan.

He praised the fact that not only had SKMCH&RC emerged as a worldclass specialised hospital but it also had garnered a tremedous reputation for postgraduate medical education and vocational training.

Mrs. Shirley Congdon, Pro-ViceChancellor, University of Bradford was also present at the occasion.

Mrs. Congdon praised the role of SKMCH&RC and its commitment to not only provide high quality facilities and services to its patients but also to provide excellent service in training and educating the next generation of health care professionals.

F

PARTNERSHIPS

or the free treatment of cancer patients, Kausar Group of Companies has committed to donate Rs. 5 per sale of their 5kg Kausar Banaspati product to the Hospital. This agreement is due to last till the end of July 2012.

Published by the Marketing and Resource Development Department Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre 7A Block R-3, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan Telephone: +92 42 3594 5100 Ext. 2404 | Fax: +92 42 3594 5208 Email: marketing@skm.org.pk | Web: www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk © 2011 Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. All rights reserved.

No part of this newsletter may be used in any form without prior written approval from the Marketing and Resource Development Department.

Please deposit your zakat or donations at any of our local or overseas offices: LAHORE

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Marketing and Resource Development 7A Block R-3, Johar Town Lahore, Pakistan Tel: +92 42 3594 5100 Ext. 2404 Fax: +92 42 3594 5208 UAN: 111 155 555 Email: marketing@skm.org.pk

ISLAMABAD

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust 2 Royal Centre 106 West Fazal-e-Haq Road, Blue Area Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: +92 52 227 3400 Fax: +92 51 227 4049; UAN: 111 155 555 Email: skmtislamabad@skm.org.pk

KARACHI

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Suite 10, Mezzanine Floor Hamilon Courts, Main Clifton Road Karachi, Pakistan Tel: +92 21 3587 2573 Fax: +92 21 3587 2574; UAN: 111 155 555 Email: skmtkarachi@skm.org.pk

GULF

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust P.O. Box 506032 International Humanitarian City Dubai, United Arab Emirates Mobile: +971 50 102 1697 Email: skmtgulf@skm.org.pk

UNITED KINGDOM

Imran Khan Cancer Appeal P.O. Box 786 Bradford, BD5 0YE, UK Tel: +44 12 7442 4444 Free Phone: 0500 786 101 Email: info@ikca.co.uk

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Imran Khan Cancer Appeal Inc. Suite 201, 195 Farmington Avenue Farmington, CT 06032, USA Tel: +1 860 674 8865 Fax: +1 860 674 9007 Email:shkm2@sbcglobal.net

Because of you ...

I BEAT CANCER YOUR DONATIONS CAN HELP MANY MORE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER.