CANCER has become a serious problem in southern Punjab, especially in areas like Dera Ghazi Khan, Taunsa Sharif, Rajanpur and its nearby districts. Every year, the number of cancer patients is increasing, but there is no modern cancer hospital in the region. Due to the lack of a specialised facility, poor people suffer a great deal.

My family faced immense difficulties during my mother’s cancer treatment. Travelling time and again to the nearby major cities for treatment is tiring, expensive and stressful. It is hard to imagine what poor people have to go through when they cannot even afford daily travel expenses, expensive hospital fee, medicines, tests and accommodation in other cities. Many patients in villages and remote areas leave their treatment halfway because they simply cannot bear the cost. Some even lose their lives because proper treatment is not easily accessible.

Recent studies have shown that breast cancer, blood cancer, liver cancer and throat cancer are becoming common in southern parts of Punjab. Poverty, pollution, lack of awareness and insufficient healthcare facilities are the major reasons behind this growing problem. Most areas do not even have proper cancer diagnosis centres or specialist doctors. Patients often find out about the disease very late when treatment becomes more difficult and costly.

The provincial government needs to establish a fully equipped cancer hospital in either D.G. Khan or Taunsa so that poor patients may receive necessary treatment.

Malik Muhammad Shahwaiz
Dera Ghazi Khan

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2026