KABUL - The Afghanistan Medical Council (AMC) asked the government to establish a modern diagnosis and treatment center for cancer diseases in the country while President Ashraf Ghani promised action to make it happen.
President Ghani and First Lady Rula Ghani as well as some Cabinet members attended a national symposium about fighting against cancer. The event in Kabul was addressed by AMC members.
AMC head Dr. Nasrin Oryakhel said that cancer diseases took more lives after heart diseases in Afghanistan and the world.
She asked the president to create a well-equipped hospital for diagnosis and treatment of cancer diseases in the country.
Zarghona Taraki, a specialist of cancer diseases and member of AMC, said that 15,000 of 20,000 cancer patients died in 2018, according to a WHO survey.
She said most common cancer type in women was breast cancer and in men mouth and throat cancer, adding no advanced diagnosis and treatment center for cancer could be established in the country. A primary facility was not enough, she said.
Dr. Haidar Omar, another cancer specialist, said statistics showed 80 percent of cancer patients died in Afghanistan and mostly because there was no diagnosis and treatment facilities for the disease.
He also said the country needed an advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment center and the private sector should be supported for investment in this regard.
He said Afghans spent around $300 million abroad for treatment of cancer and the amount could be used for creation of a center for treatment of the disease inside the country.
President Ashra Ghani, while addressing the gathering, said that the death of 15,000 cancer patients in Afghanistan was a tragedy.
He said very little efforts had been made in medical field in Afghanistan and the main reason was lack of good management.
“When we hear the word cancer we lose our wishes, so we have to break this barrier and take fundamental steps for cancer treatment, we should go from disappointment to clear action,” he said.
“I direct the Ministry of Finance to allocate an amount of budget for creation of a cancer diagnosis center and have a clear plan for providing x-ray machineries and other necessary equipment for the center,” he said.
Health specialists say there are more than 100 types of cancer diseases resulting from abnormal growth of body cells.