KARACHI: Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) in Karachi is to have its second robotic radiosurgery system for cancer within six months — and the treatment is free.
Pakistan’s first CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery, worth $4.1 million, was arranged by the Patients' Aid Foundation NGO, with donations mostly from philanthropists and the corporate sector.
Professor Dr. Tariq Mahmood, head of the Department of Radiology at JPMC, told Arab News that treatment using the sophisticated radiation tool will be free. “The price tag for such treatment in other countries ranges from $60,000 to $90,000 per person,” he said.
“CyberKnife is cutting-edge technology and the treatment is highly focused, painless and non-invasive,” he said.
“This robotic technology can cure early-stage cancer of the brain, head, neck, spine and prostate by one to five sessions of two hours.”
The number of patients being treated with CyberKnife would increase to 24 per day with the commissioning of the second robotic machine, which is expected to start operations in next six months, compared to the nine patients being treated at present, Professor Mahmood said.
The treatment is not only being provided to Pakistani nationals but to patients from Baharain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Nigeria, Russia and Afghanistan.
“Many CyberKnife specialists are on our faculty who not only visit from the USA, UK, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Saudi Arabia and France but are also available for online opinion,” Professor Mahmood said.
The department began operations in 2012 and has completed 6,000 sessions of radiosurgery.
Dr. Seemin Jamali, executive director of JPMC, said that the CyberKnife project in Pakistan was the result of a public-private partnership that enabled the country to have one of the most sophisticated and expensive medical technologies.
Land for the establishment of the CyberKnife unit was provided by the JPMC while other expenditures are being arranged by the PAF, she said.
“If you translate the amount into rupees that would be between Rs 5 million to Rs 9 million, which is beyond the affordability of even the higher-income group of society, but this all is being done free of cost,” Dr. Jamali said.
As a tertiary care hospital, JPMC treats 1.4 million patients a year.
“We provide medical equipment, staff and consumables wherever and whenever it is needed,” Sohail Hussain, the manager of marketing and donor relations at PAF, told Arab News, adding that about 150 poor patients are provided with welfare services at the JPMC daily.
As the major hospital in the public sector in Pakistan, JPMC provides emergency care to about 1,500 people a day.
About 83,000 cancer patients are referred to JPMC annually, and of those more than 7,000 are given surgical treatment.
Though the CyberKnife facility helps to reduce the number of advanced-stage cancer patients, the number of cancer patients is on the rise, mainly due to changes in lifestyle.
Pain-free: Pakistan's $4.1 million robotic cancer treatment
Pain-free: Pakistan's $4.1 million robotic cancer treatment
US freezes immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Pakistan
- Immigrant visas to be suspended from Jan 21, tourist visas unaffected
- Move targets “public charge” concerns as Trump revives hard-line immigration rules
ISLAMABA: The United States will pause immigrant visa issuances for nationals of 75 countries, including Pakistan, from January 21, the State Department said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a hard-line immigration agenda centered on financial self-sufficiency.
In an update published on its website, the State Department said it was conducting a comprehensive review of immigration policies to ensure that migrants from what it described as “high-risk” countries do not rely on public welfare in the United States or become a “public charge.”
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department said.
The pause applies specifically to immigrant visas, which are issued to people seeking permanent residence in the United States. The department said applicants from affected countries may still submit applications and attend interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued during the suspension.
According to the State Department, the affected countries include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Thailand and dozens of others across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
The department said tourist and other non-immigrant visas are not affected, and that no previously issued immigrant visas have been revoked. Dual nationals applying with a valid passport from a country not on the list are exempt from the pause.
The State Department did not indicate how long the visa pause would remain in effect, saying it would continue until its review of screening and vetting procedures is completed.
The announcement underscores the breadth of the Trump administration’s renewed immigration crackdown. Since returning to office last year, Trump has revived and expanded enforcement of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law, which allows authorities to deny entry to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court and later rescinded under former president Joe Biden.
The visa freeze also comes amid an intensifying domestic enforcement push. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded operations nationwide, drawing scrutiny over its tactics. Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation in Minneapolis, sparking protests and renewed debate over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
