PESHAWAR, Feb 2: The Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine (Irnum) is in dire need of latest equipment and funds to ensure provision of timely treatment to the growing number of cancer patients.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, Irnum’s Patients Welfare Society director Dr Safoora Shahid appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar and Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti to help provide the required machinery and funds to solve the patients’ problems.

She said that the society would observe the World Cancer Day on Feb 4 (tomorrow) and a seminar would also be held on the day to create awareness among people of early detection of cancer disease and its treatment.

The society’s director said that the Irnum was initially a 75-bed treatment facility while presently about 1,000 cancer patients were being provided treatment. She said that the number of cancer patients had been increasing rapidly.

“About 5,500 patients are registered every year,” she said and added that the hospital was under tremendous pressure and it urgently needed modern machinery and funds for its expansion.

Flanked by IPWS president Ghulam Sarwar Mohmand, a businessman, Dr Safoora said that besides patients hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) those belonging to Afghanistan were also referred to the Irnum hospital while it had no such funds to accommodate them.

She said that despite repeated appeals to the Fata Secretariat and Afghan Commissionerate for financial support the relevant officials did not bother to cooperate in this regard.

The society’s director maintained that owing to increase in the number of cancer patients it was need of the hour that modern equipment for diagnosis of cancer should be provided to the hospital. She said that millions of rupees would be required for this.

Dr Safoora said that patients from far-flung areas were provided free of cost food and medicines at cheaper rate in the hospital.  The society’s president appealed to the government, governor and philanthropists to come forward and save lives of cancer patients by giving financial assistance to the hospital.