of-the-art pediatric cancer hospital with advanced diagnostic and treatment facilities is coming up in Madinah. Ahyaha Charitable Society expects the hospital, which will have 100 beds in the first phase, to be operational by 2020. The hospital is significant as Madinah is expected to have 2,000 cancer cases including 1,100 cases among children by the year 2020. Every year 700 people are tested positive for cancer in the Madinah region and this prompted the charity to establish the hospital. The hospital will extend its services to children of different age groups from infants to teenagers, an official of Ahyaha said, adding that it would have specialized clinics for blood cancer (leukemia), brain cancer, nervous system cancer and lymphoma. The hospital project, which includes an oncology research center, comes as part of government's efforts to boost health services in the Madinah region. The charitable society is supported by Islamic scholars, businessmen, medical professionals and government officials. Its top executives wanted the hospital to provide all necessary services to the patients and conduct essential research in the field. Children under treatment at the hospital will have facilities to continue their education, the official said. "In the first phase the hospital will have 100 beds and can provide treatment to 215 patients annually. In the second phase it would serve 430 patients," the official said. It will have an annual operation cost of SR70 million, said the official while speaking to Al-Madina Arabic daily. With the increase in number of patients the cost would jump to SR115 million annually. The hospital will start operation in 2020, the official said. The management wants to carry out the project in a professional way in all its phases. It will follow international standards and criteria for the assessment of the hospital's facilities and services, he added. The hospital will make use of the expertise of specialized companies and institutions. In addition to post-surgery recovery units, the hospital will have a 7-bed intensive care unit and 10 beds for chemotherapy. "The hospital will bring about a paradigm shift in healthcare services in Madinah and it will be considered one of the best oncology centers in the Kingdom," the official said. The research center will support doctors by providing them with necessary advice in diagnosing and treating various types of cancers and will take the initiative to combat cancer across the country. "Provided with modern medical equipment and facilities, the new hospital will have all advanced services for cancer patients," the official said. "It will not only provide hope but also a better life for all children suffering from cancer," he added. Dr. Saleh Bin Humaid, chairman of Ahyaha and imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, highlighted the significant role of charitable societies in the Kingdom in extending various humanitarian services to the public, especially the poor and needy. He hoped that the new cancer hospital in Madinah would alleviate the suffering of cancer patients in the region and help them achieve speedy recovery through advanced diagnosis and treatment. He urged all philanthropists to support the hospital project. Abdullah Bin Dawood Al-Faiz, a member of the charity's board of directors, described the hospital as a pioneering project of Ahyaha. "The hospital will be open to all children with cancer in Madinah region and will provide them with advanced treatment by a group of oncologists." He said extensive studies have been conducted on the hospital's services to patients. "We'll allocate part of its services to provide early diagnosis. We'll make use modern equipment for the purpose," Al-Faiz told Al-Madina.
