DAILY TIMES 13-05-2017

HWS to launch free Cancer Drug Bank for deserving patients in city

By: Arsalan Haider

LAHORE: The Hubullah Welfare Society (HWS) is all set to establish Pakistan’s first- ever Cancer Drug Bank in order to facilitate deserving cancer patients who cannot afford costly medicines and other treatment facilities. HWS President Dr Ehsan ur Rahman, while talking to Daily Times on Friday, said that under the project, deserving patients would be provide free chemotherapy, which was still not being provided in any city of the country. He said the main idea behind the project was to serve the deserving cancer patients with free and fast delivery of anticancer drugs at their doorsteps. UK-based Dr Ehsan has been working as cancer specialist for last 15 years and has treated hundreds of patients. Currently, he is serving the HWS as its president. The advisory board of the HWS consisted of Prof Dr Ahsan Waris as patron-in-chief, Sheikh Zaid Hospital Rahim Yar Khan’s former head of Oncology Department Prof Dr Khalid Shabbir, Consultant/Oncologist (Ireland) Dr Rizwan Sheikh, Consultant/Haematologist (King Fahad Medical City Riyadh) Dr SZA Zaidi, Oncologist (Scotland) Dr Adnan Masood, Oncologist (Milton Keynes Hospital, UK) Dr Azhar Javed Rizvi and Consultant/Haematologist (Lister General Hospital, UK) Dr Syed Rabbani. Talking about the idea of the drug bank, Dr Ehsan said that some organisations had been providing free treatment, but their lengthy process, strict criteria and other problems were not fulfilling the needs of the patients properly. He added that HWS’s drug bank would provide free drugs and services to the doorsteps of the patients upon being contacted. When asked about the procedure to approach the HWS, Dr Ehsan said, “We have cancer specialists across the country on our panel and they have already been taken into confidence. When a patient tells his doctor that he is unable to buy costly medicines, the doctor will contact us after filling a few necessary forms containing initial details of the patient and his/her financial condition,” he said. He said that after filling the forms, the doctor would contact the HWS, and the organisation would send the drugs to the address of the patient within 24 hours. Dr Ehsan also said that the doctors would send HWS the biopsy report of the patient, the copy of their ID card and a registration form containing technical details of his cure. He said that the HWS just wanted to share the cost of cancer treatment, besides providing rapid access to chemotherapy drugs to the patient who could not afford it. He said that the procedure adopted would minimise delays in cancer treatment and maintain the confidentiality and dignity of patients. Talking about the eligibility criteria, the HWS president said that non-affording cancer patients referred by a qualified oncologist/haematologist, with histologically confirmed diagnosis of cancer and complete staging workup could contact the society, along with complete chemotherapy funding requests. When asked about the government and public support, Dr Ehsan said that the HWS needed donations from people across the globe, as it was serving deserving people without any religious/ethnic discrimination. He said that the HWS was also organising a fundraiser on Sunday, May 14. “Our donation system is completely computerised and anyone who wishes to explore about his funding can easily get the details,” he said. About the future plans of the HWS, Dr Ehsan said that after completion of this project, they planned to expand it by providing ambulances and all other cancer treatmentrelated services to patients free of cost.