Earlier this March, Resala Charity Association announced the inauguration of Baheya Hospital, which claims to be the first hospital in Egypt for early detection and treatment of breast cancer that offers its services for free.
It is named after Baheya Wahby, the late wife of the engineer Hussein Ahmed Othman who endured a tough battle with breast cancer. Her family chose to honor her battle by building the first hospital to aid less privileged Egyptian women who cannot afford the expense of cancer treatment.
Statistics show that one in eight women is likely to develop breast cancer, and 17.6 percent do not win their battle against cancer. But early detection of cancer raises the chances of successful treatment to 98 percent in the first phase, 93 percent in the second phase, 73 percent in the third phase and 22 percent in the fourth phase.
The hospital, which occupies the piece of land where Wahby’s house once stood, is a 10,000 square meter building comprising six stories, each spanning 1,500 meters. Once the construction was complete, the family approached Resala for their esteemed reputation as a charity association, and tasked them with equipping the hospital with the latest medical requirements needed for top quality treatment.
Not only does Baheya provide physical treatment for the patients, but it is also the first to provide comprehensive psychological and social support programs for the patients and their families. Patients’ families are included in all of Resala’s family support activities.
The hospital, situated in Giza, encourages women to visit for routine checkups and offers several services such as physiotherapy, radiotherapy, medical imaging, advanced labs and medications. Baheya is also set to be equipped with a research lab dedicated to studying and analyzing the reasons behind the prevalence of breast cancer in Egypt and the region, hoping to occupy a leading role in containing the disease.
Baheya's promotional video has been circulating on social media since actress Mona Zaki shared it on her personal Facebook account.
In other attempts to provide as many Egyptians as possible with proper cancer treatment, the Orman Charity Association, in collaboration with the Shefaa Charity Association, have set out to establish the first hospital in Upper Egypt for cancer treatment.
These endeavors follow the footsteps of one of Egypt’s greatest medical successes, 57357 Hospital - Egypt’s Children Cancer Hospital - which was built and still running on donations.