This new procedure is an initiative by the Clinical pharmacy’s drug information center in collaboration with the Anesthesia department. It involves the local anesthetization of the area through rapid cooling using atomizers or ice blocks. This procedure ensures a more rapid and painless intervention than in previous traditional methods for cannula insertion or sample drawing. It has been carried out for more than 2 weeks now and has produced positive results. The new procedure was integrated into the policy and procedures of the Hospital’s pain management and treatment unit. Atomizers were distributed to all concerned departments.
With God’s will and your valuable support, we are going to turn 57357 into a Pain-free Hospital.
Raising Awareness levels of 57357’s nursing team according to world quality standards
Our aim is the provision of world quality standards of healthcare services in order to raise our average cure rates and overcome the cancer disease.
That is why we have to be watching closely and following up on our patient from the moment he/she steps in and all through his treatment journey. All through this journey, we have to be aware of the world quality standards for healthcare services provision. That is why we were keen to assess the performance and awareness level of the nursing team with respect to these quality standards. We created a quality team which carried out the assessment and followed-up on nursing operations on each floor. This team is composed of a unit supervisor, a responsible for quality, a responsible for training, a responsible for infection control and a responsible for the floor nursing.
Hospital policies’ awareness and nursing training sessions were set up in line with world quality standards. Nurses were assessed according to their information level and their application to these quality standards when dealing with patients. Following these sessions, 95% of Nursing was well aware of and applying world quality standards when delivering their services to patients.
A message received through our Facebook page from one of the patients’ mothers:
“I faced a difficult situation as it was problematic to draw blood from my son to make lab tests before the operation. I ran into Amo farhan accidently and shared my problem with him. He calmed me down and accompanied my child to the drawing room. It made a world of difference for my son and all the other children in the room to be in the company of this lovely man. My son was laughing while they were drawing his blood. All the other children in the room stopped weeping and started laughing too.”
57357…….More than just a Hospital
The President Of Egypt Cancer Network 57357 USA
on US News / castle Connelly Pick for Top Doctors In America 2016!… EGYPTIAN AND PROUD
The Minster of Social Solidarity Lays the Foundation Stone of 57357’s Health Sciences Campus
The campus includes an advanced research center and the first proton therapy facility in The Middle East.
At Hospital 57357, our ambition has no limits… we do not just dream, but we act to make our dreams come true. That is why before the lapse of one year since we have opened the 60bed Tanta Branch and added another 60 beds to the Hospital’s main branch, we have recently launched the construction of one of the largest medical, educational and scientific projects in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa. It is a huge project which shall bring forth prosperity to our beloved homeland and will contribute to the development and progress of healthcare and the achievement of great advancements in the field of pediatric cancer care and cure.
In the presence of Dr. Ghada Wali – the Minister of Social Solidarity – together with an assembly of top officials and public figures, we laid the foundation stone of the first phase of the project of establishing 57357’s Health Sciences Campus. This first phase includes a large out-patient facility and an administrative smart building with an advanced research center to be built on an area of 2500 square meter. It also includes a proton therapy set-up, the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.
Minister Ghada Waly: Hospital 57357 represents the willpower of all Egyptians …
the relationship between the patients and the volunteers is unique”
Dr. Ghada Wali said that 57357 is not just a hospital but it represents the willpower of all the Egyptian people. It is an inspiring success story for us all. She further added that this prominent institution is founded on a number of outstanding rules and principles … such as quality, efficiency, focus on scientific research, professionalism and work mastery and embodies the regaining of confidence in Egyptians’ ability to achieve. Dr. Wali further stated “one of the most remarkable things I witnessed here is the unique relationship between the volunteers and the sick children.”
The Administrative Manager of Tahya Misr Fund: “We achieved great success in fighting Hepatitis C in cooperation with 57357.”
Gen. Akram Al-Nashar, the Administrative and Financial Manager of Tahya Misr Fund stated that the Fund found in Hospital 57357 the best partner to cooperate with in its campaign to eradicate Hepatitis Virus C, adding that 57357 provided the Fund with the best assistance and support as well as the most important lessons learnt.
Dr. Amr Salama: “57357 is a living example of coordination
between civil society and the Government.”
According to Dr. Amr Salama, the Chairman of 57357 Board of Trustees, the new project constitutes a living example of cooperation and coordination between civil society and the Government as the project is being established on a plot of land adjacent to Hospital 57357, which was allocated to the Hospital by the Cabinet of Ministers and Cairo Governor. He further added that this emphasizes the Government’s desire to support ambitious institutions and development projects.
The Hospital’s CEO to the Volunteers “Egypt will progress with your efforts
and will keep moving on as long as there are people like you.”
Dr. Sherif Abou El-Naga, Hospital 57357’s CEO, started his speech by introducing some volunteers from school pupils, who donate their time and effort to help and to cheer the patients. He also praised their efforts saying “Egypt will progress and will keep moving on as long as there are young people like you, who genuinely love their homeland and are keen to serve it.” He further stated that Hospital 57357’s new project aims at increasing the Hospital’s capacity, improving its facilities and providing it with the most advanced medical equipment so that it will be able to receive and treat more patients. This new project shall also ensure the provision of the most advanced treatment services to the children battling cancer and help achieving the highest rates of cure in the field of pediatric oncology.
Sheikh Mohamed Imam “God bless those who work for
and support this successful institution, this kind of work pleases God.”
Father Bolous “57357 is not just a successful project …
It embodies a message based on compassion and giving.”
The support and recognition of Egyptians to 57357 was manifested in the presence of Sheikh Mohamed Imam, who conveyed the greetings and support of Egypt Grand Imam Prof. Ahmed Altaib. Also Father Bolous conveyed the admiration and full support of his Holiness Pope Tawadros II to 57357 and its projects. Sheikh Imam said “I assure those who contribute to the success of this great project that their work pleases God. To the working staff and donors who assess this Hospital and exert efforts to cheer the patients and make them happy, I say that their reward is equivalent to that of pilgrimage or Umrah and may exceed it. A person may pass away but his/her good deeds will always last.” Father Bolous also commented saying “God grants us success but we, His worshipers, must work and build … that is why some institutions succeed while others fail. Looking at 57357, we see an ongoing success story that started in the nineties. However, it is not just a successful healthcare center, but it stands as an example of compassion and giving.”
As we celebrate the advent of Eid El Fetr, we remember our families and friends back home in our beloved Egypt and in the MENA region. We are thankful to ECN and its different chapters spread throughout the U.S., for creating a solid and compassionate channel of communication between Egypt and the U.S. , enabling us to bond with the less privileged in Egypt and to contribute to its welfare. In this respect, we rejoice over the birth of a new chapter in San Francisco, California and promising support from the Bay area. Through ECN, we are closer to Egypt and more particularly to its cancer patients. Thanks to the efforts of ECN’s board members, chapter leaders, advocates and volunteers, we are informed of the wonderful accomplishments of praiseworthy charitable initiatives and institutions such as the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 and the Association of Friends of the National Cancer-free initiative (AFNCI) and enabled to contribute to the realization of their goals.
We are grateful for all the support we receive here in the U.S from people from all walks of life who are donating of their time and money for the sake of Egypt’s cancer patients. Presently, ECN members are eager to rally the younger generation of Egyptian Americans around ECN’s mission and vision. As such, they welcome and encourage initiatives such as ECN at VCU( Virginia Commonwealth University ) which is a non-profit student organization that has worked closely with ECN USA to help involve college students in the worldwide fight against cancer and more specifically this year in supporting Egypt’s Hospital 57357. Another initiative is the recent establishment of an Egypt Cancer Network’s Youth Club and its potential to engage second generation Egyptian-American youth.
But the Joy of Eid El Fetr would not be complete without being able to share it with the less fortunate, for example those who are not able to find room at Hospital 57357 because of overstretched capacity or over-loaded physicians. ECN was already instrumental for the completion of the architectural schematic design for 57357’s future expansion Campus. It also contributed to the successful establishment of the joint 57357/Dana Farber Boston Children’s pediatric oncology fellowship program.
We are hopeful that together we can contribute to the actual construction of the first phase of 57357’s expansion Campus which was recently launched at the end of June, including a larger out-patient building, a proton therapy facility, and a smart administrative and advanced research building. This capacity and program expansion Campus will enable the Hospital to double its present capacity and cater to 80% of annual pediatric cancer cases in Egypt.
Help us to hold on to 57357’s vision of working towards a cancer-free childhood
Have a blessed and Happy Eid!
Hospital 57357’s top management is concerned with succession and training possibilities for the next generation of professionals who will ensure the successful continuation of Hospital 57357. Concomitantly, ECN board members are also eager to rally the younger generation of Egyptian Americans around the Hospital. During a recent fundraiser in Southern California , the President of ECN, Dr. Hisham Seify, spoke about the establishment of Egypt Cancer Network’s Youth Club and the potential it has to engage second generation Egyptian-American youth. As such, a group of young students from Los Angeles and another one from Dallas competed to bring encouragement and fun to the lives of Hospital 57357’s children with cancer in Egypt. Both groups have been influenced by their parents’ love and nostalgia for their homeland Egypt. They are thus displaying staunch commitment just like their parents to contribute to the Egypt Cancer Network, the U.S. based tax-deductible fundraising non-profit with the mission of providing resources to Hospital 57357 and other Egyptian institutions focused on cancer in the areas of patient care, education and scientific advancement.
When these students heard that Superman is a kind of mascot at the Hospital and that he is the children’s favorite hero, they immediately sprung to action: The two groups understood that the real heroes were the children themselves who were battling a fierce disease; and so they thought of buying them hundreds of superman costumes. On another front, the students’ parents, board members, volunteers and supporters of ECN understand that the real challenge lies in sustaining the success of the Hospital. This requires that their children and grandchildren would continue to support the Hospital. This support is instrumental for ensuring the continuous provision of smart education and training to all levels of healthcare professionals, the development and progress of advanced research, and the constant up-grading of tools, equipment and processes.
The journey to achieve a cancer-free childhood in Egypt is a long and demanding one. Without all ECN supporters, we would have never embarked on it. Renowned Economist Dr. Mohamed El Erian, ECN’s strong supporter and board member and father of one of the Los Angeles students expresses the need to transmit what we value the most to our children evoking this quote by author Neil Postman “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see”
The little Rwandan 4 year old boy arrived at 57357 on the 12th of October 2014 with his vision impaired because of a severe eye infection , one of his legs swollen, his body covered with white patches and bleeding from different parts of the body. He was assigned to pediatric oncologist consultant Dr. Sonia Mahmoud who diagnosed an MDS case which is a severe form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) necessitating first an initial aggressive chemotherapy treatment, then an allogeneic bone marrow transplant (i.e. bone marrow from another person or sibling).
After exactly a year and 8 months spent in Egypt in the care of Hospital 57357, Manzy has successfully completed his treatment and is now in the follow-up phase. He is ready to return to his country Rwanda. I met him with his mother and his brother, the bone marrow donor, as they were picking up their plane tickets from the 57357 Foundation.
Manzy is so cute in his smart three piece celebration suit. I complimented him on his outfit. He looks much healthier than when I last saw him a year and a half ago; he is fuller and is not wearing the sunglasses to hide the patch around the eye anymore.
Manzy you look so neat! Are you happy to be going back to Rwanda?
No! I want to stay here! I do not want to go home! Answered Manzy with half a smile. I was perplexed.
His mother tries to explain: they took such good care of him here at 57357. He was so spoilt by all the doctors and the nurses! When I had to stay with him for two whole months inside the bone marrow transplant unit, the nutrition doctor would come regularly to inquire about his culinary wishes
What were your feelings inside the transplant unit? Scared? Shaky? I asked Manzy’s Mother.
She answers: Not at all, from day one Dr. Alaa El Haddad, Head of pediatric oncology and the transplant unit was reassuring me every day that Manzy was going to be fine!
Before leaving 57357, they had to say goodbye to Manzy’s guardian angel and physician, Dr. Sonia Mahmoud. Manzy wears his suit jacket he had taken off because it was a particularly hot day. I follow them into the office and watch them as they were taking a beautiful souvenir picture.
And then unexpectedly Manzy’s Mother hugs Dr. Sonia and sobs in tears of joy and gratitude. This was an intensely emotional scene that left us all speechless.
A solidarity chain has been formed around Manzy with the first link being his physician in Rwanda who at the recommendation of her counterparts in Boston guided the father to take him to Hospital 57357 where he could receive quality care for free. The second link was Egyptian Ambassador to Rwanda Nameera Negm who enabled Manzy to be rapidly flown into Egypt to receive treatment at the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 in Cairo. The third link is his physician Dr. Sonia Mahmoud whose commitment and dedication carried him through the bone marrow transplant and the severe eye infection he had developed. The fourth link is definitely the team of nurses, physicians and healthcare professionals who are the backbone of 57357’s operations.
But the fifth and most important link remains to be all of you donors and partners of 57357 who believe in the worthiness of our mission: the provision of free quality care and cure to each and every child with cancer who comes our way.
A special thank you to our partner Egyptair who are flying back Manzy and his family to Rwanda for free within 57357’s cooperation protocol agreement with its sister African nations.
His monthly donation and those of a number of his friends were the seed money that developed into the establishment of 57357. This donation or Sadaka to 57357 is kept on-going even after his passing. The Eminent Sheikh will never be forgotten. His picture is forever engraved in our hearts. “If you come across a needy person in the land of Muslims, know that it is because a rich person stole his money” a well-known saying by the late Sheikh Sha’rawy.
Sheikh Sha’rawy was much loved and appreciated by all Egyptians because of his loving compassion, simplicity, wisdom, and insightful preaching. He is the initiator of a special school of thought and Koranic interpretation which inspired students around the globe. He was assigned the Ministry of Awkaf back in the seventies. He travelled around the world, preaching God and highlighting the tolerance and moderation aspects of Islam. He also gave numerous lectures in Europe and in the U.S. concerning issues and challenges facing Islamic communities and Economics in Islamic thought. Sheikh Sha’rawy was also known for his charitable giving: he spent his money in support of his home village peers and built for them premises for learning, orphans, and healthcare.
Sheikh Sha’rawy and the establishment of Hospital 57357
Back at the end of the eighties, lack of resources for pediatric oncology specialization at the National Cancer Institute were such that 13 out of the 16 children with cancer in the single ward for children died in one day. This happened on a Tuesday. The responsible physician for the ward was so shocked and hopeless that he thought of quitting Medicine all together. As he left the Institute that day, he remembered that Sheikh Sha’rawy had the habit of lunching at Abou Shakra restaurant nearby every Tuesday. He went to the restaurant and found him in the company of three of his friends, prominent businessmen and figures of the society, Abdallah Sallam, Ahmed Abou Shakra, and Ahmed Abdallah Teama. He shared with them his ordeal. Each one of them promised to donate a monthly sum to renovate the children’s ward and buy the necessary tools. This was the starting point for improving conditions for Egypt’s children with cancer. Soon enough in 1991, the children’s section included 120 beds and survival rates started rising.
Sheikh Sha’rawy’s monthly donation never stopped neither did his friends’ donations. Moreover, more businessmen pitched in in support of the Institute. More support and increased donations made it possible to think of building a Hospital only for children with cancer. the seed
Money of Sheikh Sha’rawy and his friends generated much goodness and charitable giving and developed into the largest pediatric oncology Hospital in the world.
Despite the passing of the Sheikh and his friends, their donations are on-going till this date. The Hospital will always remember them with much gratitude.
13 new recruits start their orientation within a carefully tailored training program around 57357’s values and culture
It was about time to have our own 57357 pediatric oncology residency program. Armed with our polished experience in the 57357 training academy based joint 57357/ Dana Farber Boston Children’s fellowship program, a team headed by Dr. Emad Moussa put together the road map and curriculum of the residency program. The main goal of the 3 year program is to offer our residents a well-structured and planned quality training which would not only give them expertise in the field of pediatric oncology but also train them around the core principles and values and of 57357’s vision, mission and aspirations.
Another pursuit of the residency program is to start the process of transformative learning with the new recruits, one that would ultimately lead them to becoming change agents capable of ushering in change and progress in Egypt’s healthcare field. Yesterday the trainees were given besides their orientation tour within the premises a comprehensive presentation about 57357’s cancer awareness program.
The thirteen recruits were chosen according to a well-thought selection process. Trainees must have their medical degree in Pediatrics and one year practicing experience in university or armed forces Hospitals. Their performance is evaluated every three months. The Residency program is another milestone on the road of meeting the increased demand for pediatric oncologists in Egypt and the surrounding region.
Residency is a phase of medical training for graduate physicians. Medical residency gives in-depth training within a specific branch of medicine. A resident is a doctor who practices medicine typically under the supervision of an attending physician. To obtain an unrestricted license to practice medicine in many territories, it is required to successfully complete a residency program. Residency training may be followed by a fellowship or a “sub-specialty” training.