Around 5,000 new patients are diagnosed with cancer annually in Jordan, KHCC says

AMMAN — "The buildings of King Hussein Cancer Centre [KHCC] are not mere cement and concrete. Every metre of the building is dedicated to saving a life and tells a story of success," HRH Princess Ghida Talal, president of the trustees committee of KHCC said on Tuesday.

During a meeting titled "A 17-year-long Journey in Fighting Cancer", the princess led a discussion, attended by KHCC leaders, social media activists, doctors, cancer survivors and patients' families, where she outlined the centre's achievements over its 17 years of existence, along with successful treatment stories shared by the audience.  

"I was only nine when I was diagnosed with cancer, and it was one of the weirdest moments of my life to wake up in the morning and find my hair on the pillow after every chemical therapy session," 16-year–old cancer survivor Osama, remembered.

"My stay at the cancer centre [KHCC] made me stronger than ever. Now, I am not afraid of anything since I defeated cancer," Osama said, adding, "I still remember when Princess Ghida used to visit us with a shiny smile on her face, bringing us gifts and candy."

Princess Ghida said that KHCC, the leading cancer centre in the Middle East, provides adult and paediatric patients with comprehensive care for all types of cancer, noting that it is also accredited by the Joint Commission International as a disease-specific cancer centre, making it the first and only centre in the developing world to earn such a distinction.

"We started 17 years ago with two oncologists only to help 14 patients, and now there are nearly 240 oncologists, 2,500 medical staff, and 600 nurses who have been dedicated to helping more than 52,000 patients so far," the princess said.

King Hussein Cancer Foundation Director General Nisreen Qatamish said that all donations go to what the donor opts to pay for; adding that the Goodwill Fund's money is entirely dedicated for patients, stressing that "nothing goes to doctors or staff".

"During the past 14 years, the fund's money amounted to JD46.4 million, which helped 2,318 cancer patients," Qatamish said, adding that "the annual donations constitute only 10 to 12 per cent of the actual cost of the centre as the treatment of each patient costs a minimum of JD30,000".

In response to a question over halting the governmental financial coverage of cancer patients, Asem Mansour, KHCC director general, said that "nothing has been cancelled". 

"There are still governmental medical exemptions and the referral to the centre is ongoing," Mansour stated, noting that "no government in any country can handle the burden of treating all cancer patients as the treatment is very costly and the number of cancer patients is on the rise". 

According to the centre's statistics, 5,000 new patients are diagnosed with cancer annually in Jordan, and the KHCC alone receives 80 per cent of the cases for treatment. 

"There should be more cooperation from the society to help cancer patients," Mansour said, adding that "the establishment of a primary care system is necessary to reduce the costs on the centre during the diagnosis and early stages, but Jordan is still behind in this stage".

Princess Ghida highlighted that, in addition to the "high quality" medical care that patients receive, psychosocial support is an essential part of their treatment journey.

"The paediatric in-patients were taken from playgrounds into the hospital, so we brought them the playground here," Mansour said.

Princess Ghida uncovered a future plan to establish a "healing garden" with green spaces, water and a theatre, which can be a "breathing space" for in-patients, as part of the various psychosocial support programmes.