Exclusive - Palestine Economy Portal

Translated by Tamara Barakat

During the past four years, cancer was the second leading cause of mortality in Palestine. The estimated number of new diagnosed cancer patients each year is around 4 thousand patients (80:1000 citizens), and 11.5% of all death cases in Palestine were caused by cancer.  

The treatment of cancer costs around 100 million dollars each year, and are continually increasing. Consequently, the need emerged for a radical solution that would decrease the cost of the treatment, and more importantly, provide patients with treatment.

The Fundraising Committee of the Center announced that it was able to collect over 15 million dollars in the few days following the launch of the fundraising campaign. The overall cost of the establishment of the Center is estimated at 250 million dollars.

Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, President of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction “PECDAR”, said that the drilling at the site has started, and that the work is underway on three parallel tracks: preparation of the land for the construction, preparation of the plans and collection of the needed funds.

He told the Palestine Economy Portal that this Center will decrease the expenses of medical transfers that weigh heavily on the Palestinian budget, and more importantly will end the suffering of cancer patients resulting from having to pass through the Israeli occupation’s checkpoints and the difficulty in obtaining a medical transfer. It will also contribute to ending the suffering of the patients’ family members.

Moreover, Firas Abdel Rahman, the coordinator of the fundraising campaign’s media committee, said that the Khaled Al-Hassan Center is intended to be a cancer treatment and prevention center through the united efforts of all Palestinians.

International Statistics on Cancer

The World Cancer Research Fund International’s statistics reveal that the number of cancer cases increased by 20% worldwide during the past 10 years.

International statistics also indicate that 400 – 500 new cancer cases are diagnosed per each 100 thousand citizen in the USA and Europe. The cancer incidence rate is 300 per 100,000 citizens in Algeria, 200 per 100,000 citizens in Egypt, 181 per 100,000 citizens in Lebanon, 80.5 per 100,000 in Jordan, and 79 per 100,000 citizens in the Gulf States (the highest of which was recorded in Kuwait (143 per 100,000 citizens)).