Patient Care

One particular situation where ECN U.S.’s support will forever be remembered and much valued is when both Hospital 57357 and the National cancer Institute suffered a severe shortage of one vital chemotherapy drug: the 6-MP back in 2013. Thanks to the efforts of Egyptian American pharmacist Dr. Mohammed El-Adma who emigrated to the U.S. in 1988, important supplies of the medication to cover a 6 month period were rapidly facilitated and shipped to Egypt through the help of the Egyptian Embassy in the U.S. It is noteworthy that 6-MP is the main drug in the treatment of ALL, a common leukemia disease in children with cancer.

In 2017, ECN, U.S. contributed together with ECN Canada in purchasing the latest chemotherapy preparation isolators that ensure maximum safety environment for immuno-compromised vulnerable children with cancer and pharmacists who are preparing chemotherapy drugs that will cure them. This technology enables total isolation between the pharmacist and the drug he is preparing thanks to a pair of integrated gloves which did not exist in the previous isolators.

• ECN is in the process of funding new food trays and carts for 57357’s patients.
• ECN is also in the process to securing the cost of purchasing two important components of the cyberknife radiation technology, the CT simulator and the CT injector. contributing to the cost of the two components will speed up the launching of cyberknife radiation treatment technology in 57357 which has the particularity of targeting the tumor with extreme accuracy enabling the usage of higher doses of radiation and consequently offering the patient a better chance for cure. Moreover, this precision in targeting the tumor will preserve the patient’s healthy cells, decreasing the side effects of the treatment and offering him a better future.
• ECN is progressing towards the acquisition the latest generation Navigator for 57357’s neurosurgery department: Neurosurgeons use an equipment (the Navigator) to reach tumors that were once impossible to operate. This equipment has a GPS system based on a patient’s MRI to target the tumors. A tiny camera is introduced through a small incision in the skull and images are projected onto a large screen in the operating room enabling surgeons to navigate between the different structures in the brain without cutting or damaging anything else in its path and remove tumors with extreme accuracy.
• ECN is also progressing towards funding a Robotic dispensing system for 57357’s pharmacy which will ensure: safety of drug storage, reduction of medication errors, and reduction of time and energy of pharmacists in manually dispensing drugs enabling them to spend more time with patients.

The main direct contributions to patient care remain to be the donations allocated by ECN members to the naming opportunity program that Egypt Cancer Network shares with its partners (AFNCI) and the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 (CCHE). The Naming Opportunity program is specially crafted to commemorate your loved ones while simultaneously providing the framework from which CCHE and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) can continue to treat Egypt’s cancer-stricken children. Indeed donations to this program directly serve to increase the endowment funds that ensure a steady and constant income which is utilized in offering top quality healthcare services to our patients at Hospital 57357 and the National Cancer Institute’s new outpatient clinics.