Supporting the cancer patients:Embracing cancer patients now possible [Archives:2005/819/Health]
By Fahmia Al-Fotih
For the Yemen Times
We are used to hearing about adopting orphans or homeless street children. But the Charity Establishment for the Support of Cancer Patient Centers (CESCPC) has just taken a pioneer step entitled “Embrace a Cancer Patient”. The charity held on Sunday 20th February a reception to declare its aforementioned new project to serve cancer patients with sincere dedication.
A number of businesswomen, wives of diplomats, female journalists and interested individuals attended the event. The program contained various activities that helped raise awareness about cancer and its victims and means to support them.
Ms. Mariam Ibrahim Mohammed, the head of CESCPC said that her organization was established on 19th October 2003 with direct support from President Ali Abdullah Saleh who donated YR 500 million to the charity, which obviously resulted in a tremendous impact on cancer patients and also resembled an encouraging incentive to wealthy businessmen and charitable people, who then contributed to the CESCPC generously.
“Since the initial donation of the President, rapid progress in the establishment of the center was made. This contributed to the establishment of the National Center for Treatment of Cancerous Diseases, which was officially inaugurated in September last year in a ceremony attended by the President of Republic.” she said.
She also added that the “CESCPC, did not stop here, but went further to build a charity pharmacy at a cost that exceeded YR120 million to grant free medicines to the poor and at a nominal cost to others. Those endeavors exerted by CESCPC, are still within the framework of its plans to establish the “Support to Cancer Patients Project”, one of the most prominent charity projects to be carried out in Yemen.
She concluded, “CESCPC, with the intensives and efforts of all charitable parties, still has many hopes and ambitions, which it hopes would achieve in the coming months and years. It is our dream to guarantee each and every cancer patient free or low-cost treatment in Yemen or abroad. By joining forces, we will turn this into a reality and one day, cancer may disappear and be uprooted from our country once and for all. But this can only happen if all of us cooperate to achieve this goal.”
The CESCPC's main objective is to facilitate the treatment of cancer patients in Yemen with the least possible costs instead of traveling abroad for treatment.
It is noteworthy that cancer patients who are lucky enough to travel abroad for treatment suffer tremendously from financial and psychological burdens away from home. There are tremendously high travel and accommodation fees and extremely high costs of treatment and medicine, making the option of treatment abroad available only to the wealthy in the society.
——
[archive-e:819-v:13-y:2005-d:2005-02-24-p:health]
