LAHORE, Dec 28: The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre has spent over $65 million on the free treatment of patients since its establishment in 1994, CEO Dr Faisal Sultan said on Thursday.

He said that this had been made possible from ‘zakat’ and other charitable donations. Besides, he said a significant and growing source of monetary support for running the hospital had come from its clinical services like pathology, radiology and nuclear medicine.

The hospital, he said, had pioneered several diagnostic and therapeutic services in Pakistan both in the fields of cancer and allied specialties. He said Introduction of IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) for cancer treatment and cardiac CT scan facilities were the examples of this technology. Future plans include acquisition of PET (Positron Emission Tomography) facilities, which would further enhance the ability to detect and evaluate cancer, he added.

To facilitate referred patients from distant areas, Dr Faisal said the hospital had opened a walk in clinic in Peshawar and was planning to replicate it in the other parts of the country. He said that its research facility was working on breast cancer genetics, hepatitis C and other multiple cancers.