Cancer is devastating for anyone, but especially for a patient from Balochistan. I am heart-broken by the story of a man I did not even see but I saw the number that represents him as a patient. There is a story behind every number. There is a beating heart, struggling to hold on to hope. First, he went to Karachi and got a biopsy done and due to long reporting times, he started searching elsewhere. Someone told him to go to Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore. One can imagine his suffering, going from one city to another — a desperate search for hope and treatment. This is only one story that reminds us of the urgent need to complete the third Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Karachi. It’s a reminder of what is at stake for thousands of patients from Sindh and Balochistan. It is their life and it is their peace.
February 4th is celebrated as World Cancer Day and the three-year campaign theme selected by the Union for International Cancer Control this time is ‘United by Unique’ — United in our message, Unique in our stories. The idea is to focus on the importance of people-centred care. People are more than their diagnosis. Behind every diagnosis is a person and a family that’s suffering. The only thing we can do is help them fight cancer. Do anything we can in our capacity to contribute and help ease suffering.
MARIAM KHAN
LAHORE
