UAE to establish region's first Proton Centre for Cancer Treatment

(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))

ABU DHABI, 4th December, 2017 (WAM) -- H.H. sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Advisor to His Highness the President and Chief Patron of the Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Humanitarian and Scientific Foundation, has laid the foundation stone for the Proton Centre for Cancer treatment in Abu Dhabi, the first of its kind in the Arab region and the Middle East.

The foundation will build the Centre in the Al-Bahia area of Abu Dhabi, in co-operation with British company Proton, and in partnership with Al-Sayer Group in Kuwait and Al Fardan Group of the UAE at a cost of US$60 million (AED220 million).

The laying of the foundation stone of the new Centre coincides with the celebrations of the 46th National Day of the UAE and the Year of Giving. The project is scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of the next year, and the Centre will by then start receiving patients.

Sheikh Sultan said that the new Centre would give immense hope to cancer patients, especially as proton technology had proved to be a great success in the treatment of tumours, with the rate of recovery using this technology being very high.

The project will contribute to enhancing the UAE's status as a unique destination for medical tourism in the region, as it is designed to receive patients from the country and abroad, he added in a statement.

Sheikh Sultan announced that the new Centre was part of a huge health project that would be implemented in the Bahia area of Abu Dhabi to provide advanced treatment services for chronic and dangerous diseases as per latest technologies, including an integrated hospital and a centre for planting stem cells.

Dr. Mahmoud Taleb Al Ali, Executive Director of Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Foundation, stated, "The Centre will provide therapeutic services to 1,300 patients annually in the country and abroad."

He pointed out that the proton technology worked by infecting cancer cells without causing damage to the surrounding cells and tissues.

Al-Ali also underscored that the Foundation was a partner in the establishment of the new cancer centre and would provide scientific and medical consultations for the project. It has allocated part of the profits from the Centre to spend on its humanitarian relief efforts and for the development of research on cancer and tumours in the UAE and the Arab region.

Dr. Mahdy Fardan Ali Al-Fardan, Chairman of the board for the Centre in Abu Dhabi, emphasised that it was located next to the Gulf International Cancer Center, and it would be the first of its kind in the region, as well as in Asia and Africa.

He stressed the importance of the proton technology in treating all types of cancer, especially tumours in children, and prostate cancer.

He explained that the use of the proton technology in the treatment of cancer patients was a significant breakthrough in the treatment methods within the country, and the UAE was at the forefront of countries that used the best innovative methods for cancer treatments globally.

He said the Centre would address all types of cancer, including tumours in children and prostate cancer, noting that the recovery rate using this technique was very high.

The Centre will provide 'Cyber Knife' technology or a 'high-speed corrective system' that will work alongside proton therapy.

The Centre will also provide chemotherapy, radiotherapy and comprehensive care programmes that will include the patient's mental and physical care, making it a unique medical facility in the Middle East.

The launching ceremony was attended by Dominique Mineur, Ambassador Belgium's Ambassador to the UAE, and several members of the British diplomatic corps, as well as a number of officials from the health sectors in the country.

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