PESHAWAR – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Saturday announced a landmark initiative to provide CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery and PET/CT scan services for cancer patients in the province for the first time.
According to details, the state-of-the-art facilities would be established at Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) in Peshawar. Until now, the absence of PET scan services in KP forced cancer patients to travel to Karachi or other provinces for advanced diagnosis and treatment.
Provincial Health Adviser Ehtesham Ali confirmed that proposals from companies have already been invited for the project. He described the move as a historic step that will bridge a longstanding gap in cancer care and usher in a new era of treatment within the province.
“This facility will ensure that cancer patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa no longer have to leave the province for diagnosis and treatment,” Ali said, adding that over 11,700 new cancer cases are reported in KP each year. He termed the project a timely, life-saving measure that would significantly improve patient outcomes.
The CyberKnife system would enable non-surgical, highly precise radio surgery for complex and inoperable tumors while the PET/CT scan would facilitate early detection, accurate staging, and effective treatment planning for cancer patients.
The health officials believed the introduction of the advanced technologies would reduce treatment costs, save critical time and provide world-class care to thousands of patients closer to home.
