Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Peshawar inaugurated

A cancer patient, Faakhir Afridi along with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan cut a ribbon to inaugurate Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Peshawar, here on Tuesday. Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Perveiz Khattak, provincial Minister for Labour, Shah Farman, Minister for Education Atif Khan and Minister for Health Shahram Tarakzai and several others were also in attendance.
The cancer hospital would provide the state-of-the-art treatment facilities to not only residents of the KP but also the people of remote areas of the country. The SKMCH Peshawar has a total covered area of 450,000 sq. ft., at a cost of Rs 4 billion while its treatment facility will be larger than SKMCH in Lahore.
Addressing the ceremony, Imran Khan said the establishment of Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was one of his biggest dreams. "Nothing is impossible to achieve if one works with dedication and a goal in mind," he added. Khan further recalled the difficulties he faced while collecting funds when he initially decided to build the hospital. "I approached government officials for a cancer hospital that I wished to establish for the free treatment of the poor and while some refused to help, others said permission for free treatment would not be given," he said.
The PTI chief said that SKMCH Peshawar would act as a role model for all the hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the authorities had been able to raise funds for the SKMCH Peshawar only because of the unmatched performance of Shaukat Khanum Lahore. Khan said the construction of state of the art Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Peshawar was his dream that came true and he felt immense happiness today.
According to reports, last week, Ajmal Khan, the facility's fundraising manager said that Rs 3.2 billion has been spent on the construction of the eight-storey building. He added the chemotherapy faculty was set up in the first phase to treat patients in the initial stages of cancer. According to Ajmal, cancer radiation therapy would be set up in the second phase and surgery facilities will be established in the third phase. He said another Rs 4 billion would be needed to complete the second and third phases.