World violinist of Japanese origin Ryu Goto was delighted with his first visit to Hospital 57357. He reveals being touched by the love which prevails everywhere in the Hospital along with evidence-based practices and quality healthcare services offered for free to the children. Mr. Goto was accompanied by a Japanese Embassy delegation headed by the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, Mr. Takihero Kajawa, and included the Japanese Cultural Centre Director. Hospital 57357 was honored by their visit and its top management warmly welcomed them. Dr. Amro Ezzat Salama, head of 57357’s Board of Trustees, expresses his appreciation to the international star for specially choosing 57357 to play the violin and entertain our children.

Ryu Goto played various pieces, delighting the audience specially the children .A group of children expressed gratitude by offering the violinist a welcome painting they had designed and executed on their own. Amongst them was a child named ‘’Shahd’’, a violin player herself, who made it a point to express her appreciation and admiration for Ryu Goto’s talent. During his tour of the facility, Goto played lovingly the violin wherever he met with the children: at the lobby, in the Day- Care Unit and other various departments .He expressed his appreciation for the high quality care by devoted professionals and the latest technology in diagnostics and treatment which are offered for free to the patients. ”My visit today means a lot to me as it made me happy just as it made the children happy.”

It is noteworthy that Ryu Goto’s special charity concert in favor of Hospital 57357’s children was coordinated thanks to the sponsorship of the Cairo Opera House in co-operation with the Embassy of Japan in Egypt and the support of Japan Foundation’s Cairo Office. Words of thanks are also in order for Mr. Takihero Kajawa, the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt and the Japanese delegation for attending the charity concert. But most importantly, it is with grateful hearts that we say “Thank you” to violinist ‘’Ryu Goto for bringing happiness to our children and we look forward to his next visit and many more.

I was attracted by his cute smiley face and his sparkling witty wide-opened eyes. Although he looks frail and small for his age, he moves around with agility and confidence, delighted that I complemented him on his super trendy fake Nike training suit he was wearing. Abdallah is turning three in December. He was a year and a half when he started treatment at 57357. Today, Abdallah who is diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia( ALL )has reached his 40th week of treatment to which he is responding well. His treatment is expected to last three years and unfortunately it has its toll on his growth and development mainly with respect to weight, height, and speech.

Hence my concern to chat with his physician, pediatric oncology Consultant Dr. Reham Abdel Aziz: “His response to the treatment is reassuring” said Dr. Abdel Aziz, We are watching carefully his development, as he stopped gaining in height and weight for as long as 10 months. But, Abdallah is blessed to be cared for by a healthcare team and an Institution which are committed to secure for him besides quality treatment, the maximum positive outcome after cure. As such, we are following up on how he is growing and giving him the necessary food supplements.

Zoom on Pediatric oncology Consultant Reham Abdel Aziz:

Dr. Abdel Aziz joined the Hospital since the start of operations in 2007. “This place is my life.The bulk of my time is spent at the Hospital” reveals Dr Abdel Aziz. “I rejoice over the cure of my patients the same way I do when one of my own children is healed after having been ill”, she added. What is unique about Hospital 57357 is the commitment of its administration to the constant pursuit of knowledge and training and its readiness to adapt to change that leads to progress and innovation. Also, Hospital 57357 is not merely a hospital but a comprehensive family- centered healthcare center which caters to the patient and his family, striving to provide them with medical and psychological support all through hospitalization and beyond.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abdel Aziz is a member of 57357’s infectious diseases Team. Recently, last September, she attended in the U.S. the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). The conference addressed major advances in infectious diseases research with a focus on antibiotic resistance, new antibiotic development and antibiotic stewardship : How to apply the optimum dosage and most effective anti-biotic for the patient without much damage to his immune system.

57357’s first pediatric oncology Fellows to be are the Hospital’s winning cards for the future

 

After their 6 week sessions in the U.S., 57357’s future fellows are more than ever enthusiastic to lead change and put into practice the knowledge they received in Boston Children’s and Dana Farber Cancer Institute

 

57357’s fellowship trainees, Noura Mahmoud Maarouf, Claudia Morcos , Hesham Moneib, and Ahmed Mahmoud have just returned from their 6 week training in the U.S. I had the opportunity to chat with them for a short while, and what a delightful moment it was!

 

Their zeal was contagious, to say the least. They communicated confidence, enthusiasm, hope and anticipation for the dawn of a new era of healthcare delivery not only in the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt but possibly in the whole country. Now, it is obvious to them that healthcare delivery should constantly be improved through efficient communication and  team work and would not to be guided towards the shores of cure except through research and evidence based practices.

 

Indeed, they all agreed that one important area where improvement is much needed is the development of research in all aspects and areas of healthcare at 57357. Our future fellows are more than ever realizing that without research, we would fall short of realizing our mission to improve our patient outcomes and cure rates. But to engage in research, physicians should be given adequate time and resources, hence, the necessity for 57357 to work on providing these. The trainees commented on the level of expertise of the nursing staff in the U.S. who performs a good number of duties normally carried out by physicians in Egypt.

 

Hospital 57357’s clinical performance is doing well as compared to what they have seen in one of the top children’s Hospital in the U.S. Egyptian physicians are as skilled as their counterparts in the U.S. but lack the culture and habit of communicating together and working as a team to determine the best course of action for the patients. While the four of them are dedicated to leading change in the areas of communication and research, they have already started to put into action what they have observed in clinical care to achieve small short wins. In summary, the consensus among them was: research, teamwork and effective communication are instrumental to future development.

 

The four trainees shared their appreciation for the fellowship training program which they recognized as running smoothly, efficiently, and in a timely manner, as well as well structured, comprehensive, and transformative. But most importantly, they are grateful for 57357’s staff and administration that are demonstrating enthusiasm and readiness to choose the path of change and transformation.

 

What touched me the most was the attitude of the four of them, one that conveys how proud they are of Hospital 57357 and of their homeland Egypt. As much as they feel privileged to be trained in the top cancer centers in the U.S., they are also aware and appreciative of the noble and unique mission of 57357 of pursuing to provide for free the same quality care for a much greater number of patients.

 

Children’s Cancer Hospital Foundation 57357 in cooperation with Dana Farber Cancer Center and Boston Children’s Hospital affiliates to Harvard University in US

The Egyptian sports champion Ramy Ashour is continuously a source of pride for his country and an inspiring example for Egypt’s youth in his pursuit of excellence, ethical conduct, and good works.

The 57357 children have an important place in his heart and receive his constant care and support. After his multiple visits and support to the Hospital as well as his frequent calls for action to charitable people, he recently put the 57357 Institution’s logos on his sports outfits: the 57357 logo on the shorts and the ECN 57357 on the T-shirts. As such , he is addressing a message to Egyptians and charitable people inside and outside Egypt to never cease to support Egypt’s children with cancer.

On behalf of all 57357’s children, we would like to express our deep thankfulness for his support and commitment to be part of their cancer cure journey. His call for action to all humanitarians around the world for the support of 57357 will enable the Hospital to fulfill its mission of curing the children (God Willing) and providing them with the world best quality care free of charge. It will also enable the 57357 Foundation to resumeits expansion projects and awareness campaigns for prevention so that ultimately we get closer to fulfilling our vision of achieving a cancer-free childhood.

While passing by the out-patient clinics I got caught by the calmness and inner peace on the face of a little girl. she was smiling to me in such a way that I felt the urge of reaching out to her to chat for  a little while  …I sat next to her and her mother who was closely watching over her. I heard myself asking the mother: ‘What’s your story and how’s your daughter now ?’’ Shahd’s mother replied with a smile: we came for Shahd’s follow up, Shahd is thirteen years old , she was diagnosed with  brain tumor when she was four .Shahd smiled back and said : Yes I’m fine now thanks be to God and to 57357 my second home , I still come for my regular follow-up and to play with my friends !” Her mother recalls her daughter’s ordeal during the difficult period of struggle with the disease: “I was desperate and helpless when I first noticed, 8 years ago, that Shahd felt numbness all through her body’s right hand side: she couldn’t move her mouth, arm or leg, she was half paralyzed. We went to many doctors who all said she had nothing at first and that her condition was temporary. Then we discovered after doing an x-ray that she had brain tumor. I was shocked but then I remembered that I had heard about a very good hospital, free of charge called 57357 …..I watched it’s ADS on TV. I took her to the Hospital..We embarked together on the treatment journey and Shahd began her chemotherapy sessions …as you know chemotherapy is a very tough treatment and especially on a kid….. I used to carry her for a year and a half due to her inability to walk after the sessions…

‘’The hospital is way ahead than what we had ever expected or predicted or seen in the ads, It’s superior in all aspects, the doctor’s care for the patients, the devotion and commitment of nurses and all other employees, …… actually from the elevator staff to the top manager ,we received a first class treatment at 57357 in spite of being a free of charge healthcare center!” reveals Shahd’s mother. She added: can you imagine that the hospital would even provide me with transportation cost back to my hometown in the far-away province (AL-Fayoum),  when I had no money to go back as I had spent every single pound on my way to the hospital .

At this point, Shahd’s mother remembers her second daughter,” her name was Samar” she reveals .She cried in tears and said” Samar had cancer as well but we discovered it too late, I wish I had brought her to 57357 because I’m sure she would have received the best care here and she would have been saved. She passed away at the age of six  …God have mercy on her!

Thanks to 57357 donors’ faithfulness,  the Hospital is presently catering to 55% of annual pediatric cancer cases in Egypt, with your support and contributions to its future expansion program including the neuro-surgery department, it will be able to accept 80% of pediatric cancer cases and break cure records in brain tumors.

 In recognition of its work in alleviating the suffering of children and its dedication in fighting cancer and achieving adequate treatment facilities. The Award, which is granted with a US$100,000 prize, was declared on the sidelines of the 36th session of the Ministerial Council.  The Council Chairman, the Chairman of the Governing Board and the Director-General presented the award to the Hospital in Vienna at the end of July 2015 The Ambassador of Egypt to Austria, Khaled Shamaa, received the Award on behalf of the 57357 Group.

The video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBM7za02BNE 

On Sunday June 28th ECN Chicago Chapter hosted its second annual Appreciation Iftar at the Hyatt in Oakbrook, IL. The event was attended by 120 local Chicago ECN supporters which included members of EAS (Egyptian American Society) EAD (Egyptians Abroad for Development) NAAMA (National Arab American Medical Association) and Arab America. Highlights of the event were Emcee Ahmed Naguib’s call for action to involve the younger generation in supporting charitable causes in their motherland Egypt, guest speaker Dr. Omar Khalil’s positive experience during his recent visit to Hospital 57357, and Mrs. Barbara Hassan’s informative talk about the various ways of donating to ECN. Besides the Iftar dinner, the event featured a lavish dessert buffet, a silent auction, authentic Egyptian music, a magic show, a balloon artist, a face painter and crafts for the younger attendees.  The Chicago Chapter raised an excess of $44,000 during Ramadan 2015.

With comfort, optimism, and hope our children were waiting for their turn at the out-patient clinics…

There, I had a little chat with Karmen, Zeyad and Mohammed…

I noticed a child with a beautiful smile watching a picture on his mobile and laughing as he was showing it to his mother and commenting:  ” Dr Emad won’t recognize me today mum as I am totally tanned from the summer sun ”.

I asked him: what is your name? He said:” Zeyad” ( He comes from Shobra and is 10 years old), I asked him , ”Are you a new patient?” , he said : ”No thanks be to God, I am cured and I came for my regular follow-up visit with Dr Emad .Then I asked his mother: what is Zeyad’s case ? She said : ” he had leukemia and I never thought he would get cured from it and live .All the staff at the hospital are angels of mercy, they gave me hope ; the doctors were closely watching over him until he got cured . I just want to send a message to whoever may have been caught in the recent polemic about the Hospital: before expressing your opinion, come and visit the hospital and ask us ( parents of the sick children ) about what we think of this Hospital : we will tell you that  we wish all Egyptian medical centers were like Hospital 57357 in cleanliness and care for the patients. Zeyad went in to Dr Emad and insisted to take a picture with him.

I left Zeyad and his mother to find the beautiful charming Carmen sitting next to her mother, waiting as well for her follow-up visit with Dr Emad . I said hello quickly, as Mohamed Dorgham another patient interrupted saying: ”I want you to take a good picture of me, upload it on Face book, and write under it “Thank God, Mohamed is cured. I want you also to tell all the children not to be afraid, people here are so good; they will give all of them the best of care and God will cure them! ‘‘(Mohammed is from Al-Minofia province).

Mohammed had blood cancer. I took a picture of him while his father was telling me how inspite of his illness,  Mohammed  was a clever student, among the top of his school, and knew Qura’an by heart .Mohammed is now cured and will only come once every year for follow-up.

Many patients were waiting for their turn in the playroom while their names were  being called every ten minutes .Some were watching TV and others were playing,  girls preferred to draw beautiful pictures of flowers and paint them with bright colours.  A’am Ayman, the security man accompanied them to the inner waiting area.

Thanks to our donors’ Ongoing Sadaka, these children, whether rich or poor, have access to free quality care and the equal opportunity of being cured and of being closely followed-up long after their recovery. Moreover, our donors’ contributions help us to engage in research studies that will improve our patients’ outcomes and to send our physicians for training, and experience-sharing in the best cancer treatment centers in the world; because the first steps for success is to educate a doctor to treat a patient. Thanks to our donors’ support, Hospital 57357 is getting closer to world cure rates and presently recording an average over-all survival rate of 74.7 %. Also, it is their support that enabled us to set up a Pediatric Oncology Fellowship training program for our physicians in collaboration with Dana Farber Boston Children’s Cancer Centre in the U. S.

  More importantly, without our donors’ continuous support , we would not have been able to increase our capacity and add 60 new in-patient beds at the Cairo Hospital and 60 others at the new Tanta branch with a total of 320 beds. But our journey never ends. We still need your help to build a 300 bed tower to be able to cater to 80% of annual pediatric oncology cases in Egypt.

 Hospital 57357 … A Knowledge-seeking journey for the triumph of life ….