ECN Supports the Association of the Friends of the National Cancer Institute (AFNCI)

Tag Archives: children with cancer in Hospital 57357

Today, we at the Egypt Cancer Network are honored to announce the Association of the Friends of the National Cancer Institute (AFNCI) as a major recipient of our support. The mission of AFNCI is to support NCI in the areas of patient care, equipment and facility upgrade, and education.


AFNCI, established in the 1990’s, is a registered Egyptian NGO with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. AFNCI boasts a long list of achievements including a cytogenetic lab, outpatient pediatric oncology clinic, the first clinical pharmacy in Egypt, and the initial establishment of Hospital 57357.Hospital 57357 marks the largest project AFNCI has undertaken, which included the feasibility, design, construction, equipment, and fundraising. AFNCI continues to support Hospital 57357 on special projects and we commend their efforts to help treat children with cancer in Hospital 57357. Presently, AFNCI working on establishing several outpatient clinics for expert consultations, pharmacies, and blood draws on NCI’s premises.

Two years ago, one of the two towers of Egypt’s National Cancer Institute needed structural reinforcement and renovation. NCI decided as a safety and preventive measure to consolidate services into one tower, which resulted in over-crowding. The reinforcement assessment was estimated to take at least 5 years but an interim solution was presented in the opportunity to leverage the 4,200 sq. meter garden area near one of the towers where a light structure complex could be built to house 43 outpatients, resulting in 1,600 visitors per day.

While this interim solution helped to reduce the overcrowding in the tower there is an urgent need to speed up the construction for the new complex to ensure smooth service and safety of patients and staff. Please see the architectural drawings for the complex below. The new complex estimated cost is $8-$10 million Egyptian pounds. According to engineer  who has previously worked on NCI projects and is currently overseeing the new complex implementation, “Once funding is secured, the complex would be operational in five to six months. The preliminary design is ready and we are proceeding with the detailed design phase, namely the Electro-mechanical works and structure.” We are excited to move forward as we seek to help increase treatment services for children with cancer in Hospital 57357.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hospital 57357 recently hosted “Research Day” with the American Board Certified Doctors for Egypt (ABCDE) and 256 attendees participated, mostly medical students, and recent graduates. Attendees connected with role-models, hospital staff and speakers such as Dr. Mona Mostafa and Dr. El Shinawy.

One of the students, summed up the event best by saying “The most interesting thing regarding the whole day, at least from my point of view,  is that it gave people role-models to measure up against .  Presenters like Dr. Mona Mostafa or Dr. El Shinawy, two of our speakers here in Egypt doing collaborative research with institutions in the US,  came from our very own universities, and were subjected to the very same environment that we want to escape from.  This was the main message I went home with: I don’t have to go to the States or elsewhere and wait to be a big shot before I return back to Egypt and then help building it.  I can, and I should, start today… “

Potential collaboration between 57357 and Alexandria’s Faculty of Medicine to Benefit a Larger Number of Children with Cancer

The initiative was launched with the visit of Dr. Sherif Abou El Naga, VP for research, academic affairs, and outreach, last week followed by a reciprocal visit by a delegation of pediatric oncology physicians, surgeons and clinical pharmacist from the University of Alexandria, one of most reputable Universities in Egypt. The delegation which comprised of specialists in urology, ophthalmology, radiotherapy, pediatric oncology and clinical pharmacy was taken on a tour of the premises and met with the heads of departments for these specialties. At the end of their tour, they met with Dr. Abou El Naga to draw a road map on how to go about for this collaboration to materialize through exchanging expertise and unifying research and treatment methods with the ultimate goal of meeting the demands of increasing number of patients seeking free comprehensive quality care to maximize their chances of cure.

The materialization of this collaboration will be equally beneficial for both parties. On one hand, Alexandria’s pediatric oncologists who are embarking on establishing a new pediatric oncology facility will have the advantage of cooperating with a leading successful model for the delivery of quality care making use of 57357’s past experience and expertise. On the other hand, the CCHE will be easing the load on its Cairo premises, as this facility could be serving Alexandria and some four governorates around it. This collaboration falls within the CCHE’s vision of diffusing and sharing knowledge acquired from practice and research through a satellite system which implements international standards of pediatric oncology healthcare and treatment protocols all across Egypt.