Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) is a state-of-the-art cancer centre located in Lahore, Pakistan. SKMCH&RC, Lahore was the very first project of the Shaukat khanum Memorial Trust, which is a charitable organization established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan. The Hospital has recently completed 25 years of serving humanity and providing world-class treatment to all cancer patients, 75% of whom are underprivileged and who could not otherwise hope to access such expensive cancer treatment.
Mission Statement
To act as a model institution to alleviate the suffering of patients with cancer through the application of modern methods of curative and palliative therapy irrespective of their ability to pay, the education of health care professionals and the public and perform research into the causes and treatment of cancer.
Inspiration for making the Hospital
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is the brainchild of Pakitan's Cricket World Cup winning captain and now the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Mr. Imran Khan. The inspiration to build the Hospital came after his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum, succumbed to cancer in 1985. During his mother's illness, he also witnessed the plight of underprivileged cancer patients in the hospital of Pakistan and deeply felt the need for a specialized cancer centre in his country. Being a developing country, where the majority do not have access to even elementary health care facilities, cancer was considered the ultimate symbol of hopelessness and almost certain death. Prior to the establishment of SKMCH&RC in Lahore, no specialisted institution for the comprehensive treatment of cancer existed in Paklistan. Imran Khan decided to embark upon the journey of realizing his dream of making cancer care accessible to the people of his country, regardless of their ability to pay. Hence, began the story of enduring love of a son for his mother and of the passion of a nation.
Fundraising
After the first one and a half
year of fundraising in 1990, when Imran Khan seemed to have exhausted all his
resources, he turned to school children and launched a fundraising team of
"Imran's Tigers". The Tigers ended up creating history. They stopped
motorists at traffic lights and went from door to door to collect funds. They
not only collected funds that enabled the construction of the Hospital but also
created awareness among the public for the need of the nation's first cancer
hospital.
Pakistan's win under Imran Khan's
captaincy in the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Melbourne helped the fundraising
efforts. However, by 1994, the project was still an uphill battle and at this
point, donor fatigue had even exhausted the overseas Pakistanis. The Hospital
was planned to open in 1994 but by the October of the same year, US $4 million
were still needed to materialize this plan.
It was at this point that Imran
Khan and his team decided to test the support of the ordinary Pakistanis. They
set out on a successful Mass Contact Campaign which started from the middle of
November and lasted till December 28, 1994. They toured twenty-nine cities and
collected US $ 5 million in six weeks from the ordinary people of Pakistan. In
the mornings, Imran Khan would address school assemblies and in the evenings,
he would travel through the streets. The generosity of the people of Pakistan
was truly inspiring. By the December of 1994, Imran Khan himself had given
almost half of what he owned to the Hospital.
During the entire first phase of
construction, over a million individual donors, from ordinary citizens to the
rich and famous, donated everything from cash, jewellery. And other valuables,
to help the first SKMCH&RC transform from a dream to a reality.
Master Plan
Dr. Nausherwan K. Burki MB, PhD,
FRCP, FCCP developed the master plan for the hospital in 1990, while he was
Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. USA. He oversaw the
building of the Hospital, which was designed by Graham Rapp of Arrasmith, Judd
& Rapp, Architects in Health Planning, Louisville, Kentucky USA. Design
details on site were handled by Messrs. Nayyar Ali Daada and Associates of
Lahore. Local engineering was performed by Messrs. Progressive Consultants,
Lahore.
Pakistan's first Shaukat Khanum
Memorial Cancer Hospital an Research Center, located in Johar Town in Lahore,
is built on a 20 acre site. It was planned in three. phases with the first one
costing nearly US $ 22 million; nearly 67 percent of the required budget came
in the form of donations.
Dr. Burki remains the Chief
Medical Advisor and Member, Board of Governors, continuing to be involved with
program development, quality control, and recruitment of consultant staff, as
well as Professor of Medicine at the University of Gonnecticut Health Center,
in Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
Inauguration
Finally, against all odds, after
the completion of the first phase of the Hospital, Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Cancer Hospital and Research Centre opened on December 29, 1994. Setting a new
trend in Pakistan, the Hospital was not inaugurated by a VIP but by a ten-year
old patient.
SKMCH&RC Today
Withstanding the test of time,
Pakistan's first SKMCH&RC in Lahore is today staffed by highly competent
professionals and has gone from strength to strength, treating thousands of
patients over the years. Today, it stands as one of the best cancer centres in
the world and it is proud to have earned Joint Commission International's Gold
Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation. It is a unique cancer centre which
has been built and operated for almost twenty-five years as a result of the
support of the public, and which has consistently treated over 75% of its
patients completely free.
Projects of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust
has established a number of centres all across Pakistan that help in the
awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer in Pakistan. Hospitals
a. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and
Research Centre (Lahore, Pakistan), the first specialized cancer facility in
the entire region with all the cancer diagnostic and therapeutic facilities
under one roof, inaugurated on December 29, 1994.
b. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and
Research Centre (Peshawar, Pakistan), built according to the latest
international healthcare standards, inaugurated on December 29, 2015.
c. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and
Research Centre (Karachi, Pakistan). The construction is planned to start
within 2020, with commencement of clinical services expected within three years
of the initiation of construction work.
Outreach Cancer Screening Clinics
a. Shaukat Khanum Walk-In-Clinic (Karachi,
Pakistan)
b. Shaukat Khanum Walk-In-Clinic (Peshawar,
Pakistan)
c. Shaukat Khanum Walk-In-Clinic (Lahore,
Pakistan) work.
Diagnostic Centers
a. Shaukat Khanum Diagnostic Centre, Jail Road
(Lahore, Pakistan)
b. Karachi Diagnostic Centre and Clinic
(Karachi, Pakistan)
c. Shaukat Khanum Diagnostic Centre, Liberty
(Lahore, Pakistan)
Laboratory Collection Centres
Nearly 200 Shaukat Khanum
Labortary Collection Centres (all across Pakistan)
On Silver Jubilee of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), Pakistan Post is issuing a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs 20/- denomination on August 06, 2020.
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