The increase in the number of cancer patients in Pakistan was a wake-up call. Cancer treatment is so expensive that the common man cannot afford it, nor can he afford it. The costs of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other supportive treatments are very high. In March 2024, the first female Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, in her first speech, showed the people of Punjab the first dream of easy access to education and health facilities. This dream was not new to the people of Punjab because the Chief Ministers who came before Maryam Nawaz had also made similar claims in their initial speeches during their respective tenures, but none of them could do justice to these claims by the end of their tenure, which Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has shown us during her tenure. The reforms and revolutionary measures introduced in the health sector in the last one and a half years are a strong hope for a healthy Punjab, which is the story of a change that is fulfilling the promise of providing health facilities to the doorsteps of every Punjabi. This story of change had begun from day one. A historic initiative was also taken to deliver two months of free medicines to the homes of cancer, TB, diabetes, and heart patients. The establishment of the “Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research” in Lahore to combat cancer is the biggest project in the history of health in Punjab. This institute, built at a cost of Rs 82 billion, will also provide the latest treatment facilities to stage 3 and 4 cancer patients completely free of cost. Here, if it is said that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has completely transformed the health sector in Punjab from A to Z, it will not be wrong at all.
On September 18, 2025, a medical miracle happened and Punjab made history when such an exemplary step was taken for cancer patients that no ruler had ever thought of before. After her visit to China, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif took forward medical innovation and, thank God, the first machine has been installed at Mayo Hospital. Coablation technology is not available in any country in the region yet. Thanks to coablation, Punjab has become the first region to adopt the latest cancer treatment. During her visit to China, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s eyes fell on the modern technology of Hygea Company for the treatment of malignant tumors. This revolutionary method uses liquid nitrogen to freeze tumors at -180° and heat them to 80° to kill cancer cells, while leaving healthy tissue intact. The special thing about coablation technology is that it is a 60-minute treatment and the patient can go home immediately. Coablation treatment is a minimally invasive procedure that eliminates certain cancers without surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Our team of doctors has received special training in China to use this technology with high expertise. The results of this technology are astonishing. The first five patients treated with this treatment have now completely recovered from cancer. Thanks to coablation, Punjab has become the first region to adopt the latest cancer treatment. Needy patients from other provinces will also be treated here. Early and free treatment of cancer patients is the first commitment. No hospital in the region, including India, has a coablation machine. If money is not spent on a helpless cancer patient, where else can it be spent? Nawaz Sharif Cancer Hospital is under construction. 100% treatment of cancer patients will be free there. If someone gets cancer, the entire family is forced to live in fear. After seeing the Co-ablation machine in China, it was promised to bring it to Punjab. Breast, liver and lung cancer are being treated at the Mayo Hospital Co-ablation Center, kidney cancer will also be treated with Co-ablation treatment. Treatment of liver, bone marrow and clear tissue cancer will be started soon at the Co-ablation Center. More coablation machines will be installed, which will be installed in Nishtar Multan, Rawalpindi and 3 in Nawaz Sharif Cancer Hospitals. Pakistan’s first Co-ablation Center has also been inaugurated. To save cancer patients from pain and suffering, a Co-ablation Center was immediately established at the Mayo Hospital. All facilities and resources will be provided for cancer treatment. Along with doctors, paramedical staff will also be trained. Co-ablation machine is an amazing revolutionary invention in the world of medical science. The doors of the Co-ablation Center are open for the people of Punjab, people of the rest of the province can also apply. I sincerely pray to Allah Almighty to make Pakistan self-sufficient. Pakistan should not have to shoulder the burden of any country or organization for the sake of its people. The historic steps taken for cancer patients are a testament to the excellent vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. The establishment of the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in Lahore will change the history of Punjab. Punjab has been deprived of better facilities for the treatment of cancer for decades. The plan that the Muslim League-N had written or listed in its manifesto before coming to power was considered a true by Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Cancer patients in Punjab were forced to seek treatment at expensive private hospitals and after waiting for many years. When Maryam Nawaz Sharif assumed the office of Chief Minister of Punjab, she announced the start of the state-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in Lahore. The greatest feature of this Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is that patients from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also be provided with the best treatment facilities here.
No leader can be successful unless his or her team is capable. If Provincial Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique is mentioned, then the public and welfare services of this great son of a great father will always be remembered, who has dedicated his self, mind and wealth for the welfare of the people from the first day. Be it floods, planning to provide the best treatment in the hospital, ensuring the law and order situation or achieving the provision of the best emergency services to the people of Punjab, the name of Provincial Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique will be written in golden letters in history. Similarly, the services of Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Azmat Mahmood Khan, Secretary Emergency Services Department Punjab Dr. Rizwan Naseer, Secretary Home Department Dr. Ahmed Javed Qazi and DG Punjab Disaster Management Authority Irfan Ali Kathia are also valuable.