LAHORE: The Punjab government has announced provision of free palliative care to stage-III and stage-IV cancer patients at the newly-established Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research, a decision that has raised hopes of the critically-ill patients who are often left untreated or unattended by the medics at the last phase of the disease.

The Punjab government has added this salient feature in the PC-I prepared for the institute wherein it has been elaborated that the hospital will construct a 100-bed block designated for the palliative care in the 900-bed mega cancer project.

The medical experts declare the stage-III and stage-IV cancer a life-threatening condition wherein the patients have to face unbearable pain and unfortunately a majority of them are denied the treatment due to the scarcity of facilities in the public sector hospitals across the province.

Punjab Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique told Dawn on Tuesday that the palliative care has also been added to the PC-I.

Minister says a part of the hospital likely to be functional in March next year

He says the institute would have a total 900 beds, a largest government sector cancer project being raised in the provincial capital.

In the 60th meeting of the fiscal year 2024-25, the health minister says, the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) had approved the three development schemes totaling Rs15,736.352 million (Rs15.736 billion).

The schemes included the establishment of the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology at Jinnah Hospital Lahore at a cost of Rs8,837.533m, provision of specialised medical equipment for the JIC worth Rs6,889.162m and the feasibility study for the master planning of teaching hospitals (PC-II) at a cost of Rs9.657m.

Similarly, the PDWP had also recommended/cleared the scheme titled “Establishment of the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research Lahore” at a cost of Rs74,920m (Rs74.92bn).

Mr Salman says a part of the cancer institute may reach its completion in February 2026 and the Punjab government is planning to make the 100-bed block operational in March next year.

“We will make functional OPD services, palliative care for last stages cancer patients, and chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the block in March 2026”, the minister says.

On the other hand, a senior medical expert says the patients with the last two stages of the cancer may live for years if they get treatment and immediate expert care.

Unfortunately, he says, the facilities for the treatment of cancer patients remained rare for years in the government sector teaching hospitals, particularly, in the province.

In Lahore, the Mayo Hospital is the only government sector teaching institute which houses the cancer ward and that too is manned largely by the junior doctors.

Presently, the medical expert says, there is no professor available in Mayo’s cancer ward and this department is not registered/recognised for the training of the FCPS oncology students. Only Nishtar Hospital, Multan, has a cancer department which is recognised for the FCPS training.

Another senior doctor says the Mayo and Nishtar hospitals are the only two government hospitals which had established cancer departments/wards in 1958-59.

In 2024, he says, a senior clinical oncologist Prof Ahmad Ijaz had felt the need to expand the scope of cancer treatment in south Punjab.

As a vice chancellor of the Nishtar Medical University (NMU) at that time, Prof Ijaz got approved a mega scheme of raising the five-storey block, designated for cancer treatment only.

He also got the cancer ward recognised that produced for the first time 30 FCPS oncologists.

He declared it the highest number of qualified medics who were produced by any public sector institute of the province so far in oncology.

About stage III and IV cancer, the expert says the specific treatment options depend on the type and location of cancer, as well as the patient’s overall health.

However, the prime objective of an oncologist remains a goal to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells, reduce symptoms and side effects, and improve quality of life.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2025