Proton beam therapy cancer centre to be set up in Gambat

KARACHI: A meeting, held at the Sindh Secretariat with Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah in the chair, decided on Friday that a proton beam therapy cancer centre would be set up in Gambat.

Those attending the meeting were Dr Rahim Bakhsh, head of Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Abdul Samad, head of Larkana Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy, Dr Shahid Iqbal of Nimra Jamshoro, Noor Mohammad Shah, special secretary and others.

The meeting was informed that with the acquisition of the said technology, Pakistan would become the first country in Asia to offer such treatment totally free-of-cost. With the new technology, treatment of vital organs including liver, lungs, kidneys, etc., would be possible without any operation. With the help of therapy, 50 patients would be provided treatment on daily basis, and the number would be further increased in the coming days.

The meeting was informed that at present, 150,000 patients were being treated through 89 such proton therapy machines in different countries of the world. Proton therapy eliminates the effects of cancer without damaging the patient’s tissue. In this way, the cost of conventional treatment of the patient would also be reduced.