Daily Times

Sir: The disease of cancer is continuously rising globally, placing further strains on both individuals and families. The number of cancer cases and related deaths worldwide is estimated to double over the next 20-40 years, with the greatest increase in low-and middle-income countries, those least equipped to cope with both the social and economic impacts of the disease.

Women in developing countries like Pakistan tend to die at greater rates than in more developed countries because the disease is generally detected when it is in its advanced stages. Some 162,000 patients are added to the existing number of cancer patients in Pakistan each year. Only a small minority is able to get treatment.

There is, therefore, a critical need to expand medical care for these patients in all the provinces. In Pakistan, no centre offers bone marrow transplants, except an Armed Forces Institute. There is, therefore, an immediate need for a large cancer hospital or a network of cancer hospitals, which offer palliative care, where bone marrow transplants are available and cancer emergencies are addressed.

ABID HUSSAIN

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