Maximum funds for cancer treatment: Mujtaba

LAHORE
Punjab Law Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman calling for promoting social mobilisation against smoking has said billions of rupees are being wasted on smoking annually which is a major cause of TB, lungs cancer, cardiovascular and other chest diseases.
Talking to delegations of doctors and NGOs about Anti-Tobacco World Day, Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said the government was implementing a comprehensive plan for the provision of better healthcare facilities in the province. For this purpose, all available resources are being utilised and cooperation of international donor agencies Unicef/WHO is receiving in this regard.
The government is providing maximum funds for prevention and treatment of cancer and other fatal diseases to achieve the targets and all out cooperation and grants would be provided to the research oriented agencies, he added. He said billions of rupees are being spent on social sector development programme and for the provision of modern and standardised educational and healthcare facilities.
Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said more research facilities would be provided to the young doctors of oncology and research registrars would be appointed where required. He said radiotherapy machines had been set up in the teaching hospitals whereas for the treatment of breast cancer, mammography machines have also been provided to Jinnah and Allied Hospitals.
He said the majority of the patients present with advance disease requiring palliative care, radiotherapy is the most cost effective modality for 90 per cent of these patients and Punjab has largest number of radiotherapy oncology treatment facilities in the country, follow up and multi-disciplinary combined clinics, teaching of oncology of under-graduate and postgraduate students, research clinical trials, fund raising for treatment of poor cancer patients were minutely observed and focused by the oncologists, he added.