The National Cancer Care and Research Center (NCCCR) at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) continues to receive cancer patients from the siege countries, an HMC official has said.
“NCCCR is treating a good number of patients from the siege countries such as Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In spite of the blockade imposed on Qatar by these countries, we are still receiving patients from these countries,” said Dr Mohamed Ussama al-Homsi, senior consultant physician and chairman of Medical Oncology and Haematology Department, NCCCR.
“Several patients are coming from the Gulf states. We are not closing the doors on them. We welcome everyone to come and get treated here,” Dr al-Homsi said.
“We offer the best treatment possible for everyone. These patients are receiving the same type of treatment given to Qatari nationals and residents of the country. We do not segregate them on any account.”
According to Dr al-Homsi, HMC has a standard procedure and practice for treating the patients. “We have a standard procedure for treating the cancer patients. A patient suspected of cancer has to be seen by a specialised physician within 48 hours and should be under observation. The investigations and tests required for confirming the diagnosis and for staging work-up has to be completed in two weeks and then within two weeks the treatment should be started,” Dr al-Homsi continued.
The official said there are 16 multidisciplinary teams to deal with various types of cancer cases. “These multidisciplinary teams meet every week. We have guidelines for each type of cancer treatment according to the best practices available all around the world. We have a physiotherapy team, palliative care team as well as co-ordinators to help the patients in arranging the appointments for clinical visits and investigations,” the official explained.
“In addition, we have increased the number of clinical nurse specialists. We also provide an annual report about each of the cases, the mode of treatment offered as well as the outcomes. We are adopting the best practice of treating cancer and therefore, the number of Qatari patients visiting abroad for cancer treatment has come down significantly,” he stressed.
The NCCCR, which opened in 2004, is the only cancer treatment centre in the country. It provides all types of treatment such as medical oncology therapy, which includes chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, hormonal treatment and other treatments.
“We also treat benign hematology.We have a well-established radiotherapy centre with all modern machines. Two years back we started bone marrow transplantation therapy. We provide psychotherapy, physiotherapy and there are social workers to provide support for the patients,” Dr al-Homsi added.
Dr Mohamed Ussama al-Homsi
